May Our Hearts Be Forever Entwined
by Last Guardian Standing
Summary: The highly cliched premise that Harry Potter is not the Boy-Who-Lived, his twin is. Or is he? This story starts in fourth Year. An encounter with a certain visitor changes Harry's life forever. [Harry Potter/Fleur Delacour] [Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood].
1. Chapter 1: Sibling Rivalry

Harry Potter FanFic that starts off at the start of Harry's forth year at Hogwarts. However he isn't The-Boy-Who-Lived. His twin brother Michael has been lauded as such since the incident with Voldemort and as such as grown up to arrogant, rude and cruel to his brother and those who he feels are inferior to him. However a misunderstanding with a certain French visitor changes Harry's life forever.

Chapter 1: Sibling Rivalry

Harry Potter sighed as he watched his brother strut onto platform 9 ¾ like he owned the whole place and was generous enough to let everyone else on it. Harry knew that nothing would ever be said by either of his parents, James and Lily Potter, about Michael's behaviour as on their eyes he was the perfect son and saviour of the wizarding world who could do no wrong. Harry refused to think of his parents as Mum and Dad; they had long since lost that title to him for their actions, and if anything Harry felt that his godfather Sirius Black was the honorary holder of that title.

It had been thirteen years since the incident between Lord Voldemort and Michael Potter, or so the world assumed forgetting that Harry had been there as well. It had been pure luck that neither Lily nor James had been at home that night, having been dragged out to a new muggle dance club by Sirius, leaving Peter Pettigrew to babysit Michael and Harry. It was only when they returned that they realised what a terrible mistake they had made as the house was practically blow apart with no signs of life anywhere. Both of the Potters were well on their way to breaking down into hysterics when Sirius heard faint crying coming from the first floor and made his way carefully up as to not cause the house to fully collapse. When he reached the first floor he found both Harry and Michael there, although only Michael was crying whilst Harry was almost unnaturally quiet. However this wasn't what threw Sirius, no. It was the fact that Michael had a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead and Harry now had emerald green eyes when they had been hazel like James' were.

Having brought the children down to their distraught parents Sirius then contacted who he thought would be the best person for the job of helping them understand what had transpired that night, Albus Dumbledore. Sirius would only understand years later that calling Dumbledore in was a colossal mistake as the man was only out for himself even if he portrayed the kind and genial grandfather. However at the time Dumbledore was the leader of the vigilante group, The Order of the Phoenix, which had been set up to combat Voldemort and the Death Eaters, so Sirius trusted the man to make the right decision. When Dumbledore arrived he spent some time examining Michael Potter before announcing that he was the Boy-Who-Lived.

News quickly spread about Michael Potter's miracle survival against the supposedly unstoppable killing curse. At first both Lily and James Potter tried to control the exposure their sons had to the press and the public, but soon they became lost in the fame that came with being the parents of the Boy-Who-Lived. Initially they had treated both their sons exactly the same, but as they slowly let the fame of their son take over their lives, they began to ignore Harry who in their eyes did not need as much attention as his brother. At first Harry had tried to get his parents attention by acting as good as he possibly could so that they might take notice of how well behaved he was in contrast to his spoilt brat of a brother, but alas they just took this as a sign that Harry was growing up nicely and did not need his parents like Michael did. Harry then tried behaving badly to try and get his parents to at least pay attention to him, but these actions were seen as Harry being jealous of his brother's fame and not only did not garner his parents attention, they led to punishments that would grew more severe as time went by.

Sirius had tried to be the best Godfather he could to both Harry and Michael, but after a while even the easy going Grim animagus couldn't find it in him to try with Michael, who demanded sweets or toys whenever Sirius visited, and so tried to spend his time with Harry. Sirius could see that Harry was being neglected so after trying and failing to talk his 'friends' into some sense, Sirius took up the mantle of being Harry's honorary parent. Unfortunately for both Harry and Sirius their time together was limited as Sirius was still having to work long hours at the Auror office due to the fallout from the wizarding civil war that had happened.

Harry was brought out of his reminiscing by the loud and pompous voice of his brother; "Watch where you're going you peasant!" It looked like a first year had accidently knocked into him while attempting to board the train. "I am the Boy-Who-Lived! So you better learn some respect!"

The first year went pale and ran off leaving Michael Potter to smirk at the effect he had caused. Harry felt sick watching his brother act like he was king of the world whilst his parents did nothing to stop him, so Harry grabbed his trunk and went off to find his friends. Harry found his friends Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood midway down the train in an empty compartment that they had occupied a few minutes before. Harry and Neville had been friends since the first year of Hogwarts, despite Neville being in Gryffindor and Harry being in Ravenclaw. Their friendship had sprung up from Neville attempting to befriend Michael Potter due to how close his parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom, had been with the Potters before they were driven mad by Bellatrix Lestrange. Unfortunately for Neville, Michael Potter only saw a shy timid boy to bully in Neville, which he proceeded to do so while loudly exclaiming how stupid Neville must be to think that the Boy-Who-Lived would want to mix with squib scum like himself. However just as Neville had been about to break down in tears in front of everyone, Harry had marched up to his brother, punched him in the face and led Neville away so that if Neville's resolve did break he would not have everyone see him cry. In the end Neville had cried for the way he was treated as he had only wanted to keep the Longbottom/Potter alliance going and potentially make some friends along the way and instead it was thrown back in his face.

After some time in which Harry used to calm Neville down, Harry was able to get the full story of what happened from Neville before declaring what and arrogant asshole his brother was and instead extending the hand of friendship to Neville where his twin had refused. This started off their close friendship that had continued to be strong to this day as both boys had a strong sense of loyalty to friends and would not turn on each other almost no matter what happened to them. Harry's other friend Luna was a year younger than him and Neville, but was also in Ravenclaw. They had met when Harry had saved her from being bullied by some older students who seemed to take offense to Luna's eccentric look and behaviour that didn't fit in what the bullies would call the norm. These two were pretty much the only friends Harry had due to how almost everyone else fawned over his brother as the Boy-Who-Lived and just saw Harry as the boring, normal brother.

Neville and Luna smiled when Harry entered the apartment and were in the process of helping him to store his trunk and his owl, Hedwig's cage when they were rudely interrupted by the arrival of the Bully-Who-Lived. Michael Potter forced open the door flanked by Ron Weasley and Seamus Finnigean and sneered at both Neville and Luna before turning to his brother.

"Now _Harry_ , I know you have more money on you from your summer job so hand it over before we're forced to do something you'll regret!" Michael drawled at his brother with a blatantly threatening air of superiority.

Harry though simply looked at his brother with a bored expression before replying in a calm and almost bored tone; "How about you piss off Michael and try your tough guy act on someone who might actually be scared by it. That is if you can find someone that scared of a coward like you!"

Michael Potter went red in the face before his expression changed from arrogant sneer to barely suppressed rage at his brother's words. He looked like he wanted to start a fight but saw how Harry already had his wand in his hand and although Michael would never admit it to anyone, he knew his brother was better than him at magic and all it would result in would be a humiliating defeat if he tried anything. With this in mind he signalled for his friends to leave but not before leaving with a parting insult; "My mistake, _brother,_ I had forgotten that you spent all of your money bribing people to pretend to be your friends. Let's go guys, we don't want to catch loser-itis!"

As they left Harry could hear the three Gryffindors smirking at the insult Michael had just left Harry with and although he didn't show it, inside Harry was both seething in anger and also upset that still his brother refused to treat him like a human being.

Neville was first to speak again; "Don't mind that tosser, one of these days everyone will see that he can't back up most of his boasting and he'll be seen as the fraud he really is."

"Thanks Neville, it's nothing I'm not used to but he can't seem to just leave me alone ever!" Harry replied being both grateful to his friend but still somewhat upset. The rest of the train journey past by in relative peace barring interruptions of the snack trolley lady and a rather scared looking first year who ducked into their compartment briefly to escape a pair of bullying second years.

The journey up to the school was leisurely as ever albeit slightly unnerving as Luna had told both Harry and Neville about the Thestrals that pulled the carriages, but neither were able to see them due to not having seen death. As the three of them arrived at the doors to the Great Hall of Hogwarts they saw Michael Potter shoving some lower year students out of his way whilst laughing cruelly at them falling over. Once they had entered the hall Neville went off to the Gryffindor table whilst Harry and Luna made their way over to the Ravenclaw table. It was nearly fifteen minutes later that Professor McGonagall came into the hall leading the procession of this year's first year students who almost all looked like they were about to faint or throw up from sheer nervousness. This year the sorting hat sang a song about unity not just among the houses but with those from other countries that piqued Harry's curiosity at what the hat could know that the rest of the school didn't. A further twenty minutes later all of the first year students had been sorted with four girls and three boys joining the Ravenclaw table. It was at this time that Professor Dumbledore stood up and addressed the hall.

"To all students both new and old I bid you welcome and as now is not the time for speeches I have only two words for you, tuck in!" He finished warmly, smiling at the cheers of some students as the food appeared from nowhere on the four house tables.

As the students attacked the food on the tables a general noise of chatter rose steadily as people enquired how their friends summer's had been and which upper year student was trying to get off with who. Most of this chatter was blanked out by Harry and Luna as they had quickly learnt that most of this chatter was inane, not that most people would include 'Loony' Lovegood or Not-The-Boy-Who-Lived in their conversations. Initially when Harry had started Hogwarts alongside his brother he had tried to make friends in his own house and others outside of Neville, but he quickly was faced with people being disinterested in being friends with the unknown brother of the Boy-Who-Lived.

After the puddings vanished leaving the platters clear and shiny the headmaster once again stood up to give his start of the year speech.

"Good Evening! Now that we are all fed and watered there are a few start of term notices that I wish to announce. First and foremost is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Alastor Moody, who has agreed to come out of retirement for this year to help with the running of the school and to assist with an event that is taking place at Hogwarts this year. "

Most of the hall broke out in whispered conversation at the announcement of the famous Auror Alastor Moody teaching them and the event that Dumbledore had mentioned, however after clearing his throat loudly the hall fell silent and Dumbledore continued with his speech.

"Secondly I regret to inform you that the Inter House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year as-"

This was as far as Dumbledore got before he was drowned out by angry exclaims from the majority of the houses, the loudest being Michael Potter and Ron Weasley which caused Harry to smirk at how personally his brother was taking this announcement. It took several firecrackers shot from the end of the Headmasters wand before silence was restored in the hall and he could once again continue.

"The cup will not be held due to the event that I have previously mentioned which I can now reveal as the Triwizard Tournament! For those that are unfamiliar with this tournament it consists of three magical schools from which a single student is chosen to compete. This chosen student will be their respective school's champion and will have to complete three dangerous tasks in order to have a chance at claiming the Triwizard cup and being named Triwizard Champion! The delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons shall be arriving next week and more information shall be released at that time. Now off to bed toodle pip!"

As the Headmaster's speech drew to a close excited talk spread like fiendfire around the great hall as students began their journeys to their common rooms. Harry for the most part was completely uninterested in the whole thing as he knew he would be far too young to compete in the tournament even if he had wanted to. However this did not mean that he would root for whoever was chosen as Hogwarts' champion as long as it wasn't one of the pureblood supremist Slytherins.

The week before the other schools arrived seemed to fly past and before Harry knew it he was lined up alongside the other Ravenclaws awaiting the arrival of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Durmstrang arrived first in an old style battleship that had suddenly surfaced from underneath the surface of the Black Lake. Beauxbatons arrived almost ten minutes later in a giant carriage pulled by giant winged horses known as Abraxans. As the Beauxbatons students descended out of their carriage the assembled Hogwarts students were treated to two amazing sights, one was the tallest woman they had ever seen outside of the gamekeeper Hagrid. The other was one of the students who after pulling off the shawl around her face and shoulders was revealed to be the most beautiful woman any of them had laid eyes on.

Fleur Delacour was feeling slightly frustrated as she descended the steps from the carriage in order to fall into line behind her Headmistress, Madam Maxine. As she looked over the assembled Hogwarts students she was unsurprised to see almost all of the boys staring at her with unhidden lust and the girls glaring at her with hateful stares. This was nothing new; she had been treated like this for as long as her Veela powers had come into effect. As she scanned the crowd she saw a boy looking at her with lust and a hint of possessiveness she recognised him as being the Boy-Who-Lived, Michael Potter. If half the stories about this boy's cruelty and arrogance had been true then Fleur knew this is someone she should stay well away from. However as the students from the three schools made their way up to Hogwarts, Fleur felt a hand squeeze her ass prompting her to slap it away and turned to face the culprit which turned out to be a smirking Michael Potter who still had the look of lust and possession in his eyes like he owned Fleur, but now there was a new expression on his face that seemed to say that she couldn't do anything about what he had just done as he was the famous Boy-Who-Lived. Needless to say Fleur was livid at the boy, but was unable to do anything in the crowd as she might hit an innocent if she tried to hex him.

Harry had remained oblivious to this drama as he was currently stopping Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe from bullying Luna, something which they did frequently due to Luna not fitting in with what the two older girls viewed as normal. As the students entered the hall the Durmstrang contingency sat at the Slytherin table, much to the disappointment of many Gryffindors as it had been revealed the internationally acclaimed best seeker in the world, Viktor Krum was still in school at Durmstrang. The Beauxbatons contingency opted to sit at the Ravenclaw table in what was regarded as the popular students section which was at the opposite end to where Harry and Luna sat.

Dumbledore stood up as all the students were seated and addressed the gathered students of all three schools; "I would like to put forward a kind welcome to the students who have joined us here from both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons who I hope find suitable hospitality within these walls. Secondly I have some announcements in regard to the Triwizard tournament, but our guests have travelled long and are in need of nourishment so without further delay I call the feast open!"

With his final words Dumbledore clapped his hands once and the platters filled up in front of the students, Harry was quick to notice some other dishes that were not normally present at feasts or normal meal times and surmised that they must be dishes native to both France and Bulgaria to help make their guests feel more at home. Roughly half way through the meal Harry saw one of the Beauxbaton witches stand up and walk to the Gryffindor table where she engaged in brief conversation before returning with a pot of what looked like fish stew. Harry noted that this woman was almost unearthly beautiful and seem to entrance most of the boys in the hall, making a lot of them women and girls frown or glare at her. Harry however knew how rude it was to stare and that there was no point having a crush on a witch most likely three years his senior and who would be unlikely to want anything to do with a nobody like him.

As the feast dragged on it was easily seen the sheer number of students that were craning their necks every few minutes to see if Dumbledore looked like he was about to make his speech about the Triwizard tournament that everyone had been awaiting with breathless anticipation. Finally Dumbledore rose to his feet; an action that brought almost immediate silence.

"Eternal Glory! That is what awaits the winner of the Triwizard tournament, but be warned if chosen you stand alone. There can be no second thoughts or backing out if chosen by the Goblet of Fire. Therefore I must impress upon anyone wishing to enter their name into the goblet to think through their decision very carefully first before ultimately submitting your name."

Dumbledore paused briefly to survey the room and seeing no questions were about to be asked he continued on; "The Goblet shall be placed outside in the main hall, anyone who wishes to enter their name must write their name and school on a piece of parchment and drop it into the fire by this time tomorrow. Now to go through some of the rules of the competition, Mr Crouch from the Ministry has been elected to say a few words."

The headmaster stepped down from the lectern at the front of the hall and another man in a muggle style suit stepped up to address the students.

"Thank you Professor Dumbledore. The Ministry has decided that to minimise the risk of under qualified students taking part in the tournament, no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to submit their name."

Whatever Mr Crouch was about to say next was drowned out by the tidal wave of shouts of disapproval from the students of Hogwarts and the angry words of what Harry assumed were the Weasley twins who were complaining about only needing to be a few months older. Dumbledore was forced to intervene in order to bring quiet back to the hall.

"SILENCE!" He boomed and the hall quickly fell back into a mutinous silence.

Mr Crouch then continued; "This ruling has been brought in to make sure that the previous tournaments death tolls are not repeated now. Professor Dumbledore shall be drawing an age line around the Goblet and I must ask you to not attempt to cross this line if you are underage."

With these final words Mr Crouch sat back down and Professor Dumbledore was able to retake his position at the lectern to send the students to bed. On the way out of the hall Harry overheard Mad Eye Moody telling the Durmstrang High Master Karkaroff that he had indeed run init the Boy-Who-Lived Michael Potter and that he better move as he was blocking the door. Harry shook his head at how his brother was still treated after all these years, he thought that people would have got used to him by now and treated him normally.


	2. Chapter 2: Mistaken Identity

Chapter 2: Mistaken Identity

It was the following morning that found Fleur Delacour walking down a deserted hallway in search of the Hogwarts Library; she had already entered her name into the Goblet of Fire and thought that any head start she could get on studying spells if she was chosen would be advantageous. However as she neared the door to the Library she saw a raven haired boy exit it. Almost at once the anger she had felt the previous evening when Michael Potter had groped her came surging back and with a fluid motion she drew her wand and sent a stinging jinx at the boy's back. Fleur felt an almost sadistic thrill when she heard the boy yelp in pain but that feeling turned to one of horror and remorse when the boy turned around to see who had jinxed him and she saw that he had no scar on his forehead and his eyes were emerald green rather than a hazel brown.

Immediately Fleur could see pain and fear in the eyes of this boy who she had attacked and for good reason as she most likely had at least two more years magical training than he did and could hurt him if she so wished. However this was the last thing she felt like doing seeing the vulnerable look in his eyes.

"Monsieur please forgive me, I thought you were someone else!" Fleur began in a panic that she had just attacked an innocent boy.

The boy seemed surprised that she hadn't been her intended target but was still slightly cautious as he could still feel the stinging jinx hurting him. "I forgive you madam, I realise that I am almost identical to my brother and he must have done something dreadful to incur such wrath as yours. I am not my brother though, my name is Harry Potter."

This statement allowed everything to click in Fleur's mind and she vaguely remembered hearing about a brother of the famous Boy-Who-Lived, however this didn't explain her actions to him.

"Zank you for accepting my apology 'Arry Potter. Your brother groped me yesterday when I was walking up to the castle and seeing you from the back brought back the anger I felt last night and I wanted Michael Potter to feel pain!"

"That ASSHOLE!" Was the only response Harry had to Fleur's explanation as to why see had attacked him "I resolutely apologise for my lower life form of a brother's actions Miss...?"

"Delacour, Fleur Delacour Mr Potter."

"I understand your actions towards me now and I only ask that if my brother or I anger you again I am given warning so that I have a chance to run!" Said Harry with a cheeky grin on his face.

Fleur smiled in response to his attempt at humour, but was suddenly sobered by an epiphany that the entire time Harry had been talking to her he hadn't been glazing over, stammering his words or attempting to impress her. In other words he was immune or at the very least resistant to her allure, something that was extremely rare and coveted in potential mates of Veela as they could lose themselves in passion and not reduce their mate to a drooling vegetable. Using this information Fleur decided to strike up a friendship with Harry Potter as he might be young now but give it three or four years and he could be a potential mate for her and potentially very good looking if he continued down the path he was on in the looks department.

"I will keep that in mind 'Arry. Now would you be so kid to show a lady where the offensive spell books are in your library?"

"Certainly Madam, let it never be said that a Ravenclaw shied away from helping others in the pursuit of knowledge."

Leading Fleur into the Library harry quickly located the librarian Madam Pince who seemed to have a soft spot for him an allowed him into the restricted section, despite him not being old enough or by having a note from the teachers to authorise his access. After finding an empty table and depositing all of the collected books they had found Harry and Fleur got to work finding and noting down potentially useful spells with instructions and effects for later use. They were at this for hours with occasional interruptions for them to discuss a potential spell that they had both come across, It was only when Madam Pince came over to their table to ask them to return all the books they had found to their rightful places as the feast and champion selections would be starting in a little over half an hour. Once they had replaced the books and exited the library Harry turned to Fleur and spoke the words he hated for having to say but thought he would save himself pain later, so was gobsmacked at Fleur's response.

"I don't mind if you would rather sit with your classmates or the popular people in Ravenclaw. I know that sitting with the two most unpopular people in Ravenclaw will lower your social standing so I won't be offended if you want to sit away from us."

Fleur looked at him in shock but promptly responded; "Non 'Arry! I will sit with you and your friend. You helped me even after I mistook you for your brother and attacked you when you would have been entitled to leave me to find things on my own. And anyway my 'Eadmistress says that this tournament is about promoting unity between the schools and making friends, so why should I not show off my new Ravenclaw friend!"

Harry was amazed by Fleur's answer and it took him a few seconds to bring himself out of his dazed state before he extended his arm and using his best pureblood high society drawl to say; "Madam Delacour I humbly request you let me escort you to dinner and I can only help I do not become completely invisible when compared to your radiance!"

Fleur laughed at the silly attempt Harry was making at pretending he was a pureblood snob and his compliments and looped his arm in hers before replying; "Zank you kind sir, I accept your invitation. Now let us be off Monsieur Potter, it would not do well for me to be late when I am chosen to be Beauxbaton's champion!"

The noise from the Great Hall dropped a few decibels when Harry and Fleur walked in with their arms entwined and Harry was pleased to see the positively loathing, jealous look his brother had when seeing him with Fleur. As they sat down at the Ravenclaw table it seemed all anyone was talking about apart from the imminent choice of the champions was the beautiful witch from Beauxbatons was choosing to sit with the relatively unknown brother of the Boy-Who-Lived. Once the feast had begun various people approached Fleur to tell her that she would be welcome to sit with them and that she didn't need to sit with the other Potter boy. Harry was quietly happy to see that every time someone else tried to get Fleur to sit with them, she would politely but firmly tell them no, and that she was perfectly happy sitting where she was. They all had the same look when they were rebuffed, amazement and wonder at what Harry could have possibly done to make this stunningly beautiful witch want to associate with him over anyone else in the hall.

All too soon Harry felt eyes drilling holes in his skull that demanded answers. Both Neville and Luna had been pointedly looking at Harry and Fleur for several minutes which Harry had quickly picked up on, so beckoning Neville over from the Gryffindor table and asking Luna to move in closer Harry told them how and why he was currently sitting next to the most beautiful woman in the hall.

"Luna and Neville don't think I haven't noticed you practically trying to read my mind, if you really wanted to know why not just ask me?"

Neville piped up first looking somewhat embarrassed as he was having a hard time keeping composed when in such close proximity to Fleur. "Well mate, we didn't want to intrude on your privacy as we thought you would tell us at the start of the feast but when you didn't we wondered if it was something that needed to be kept secret."

"No it's nothing like that Neville, it's just we haven't had much time today apart from studying to discuss anything with you guys. If you really want to know Fleur and I became friends when she mistook me for my brother and-"

Here Neville got a certain look of caution on his face and tried to interrupt Harry, but Harry was able to continue across him to explain; "No Neville not like that, Fleur is not a fan girl of my brother, she is currently very angry with my brother as he groped her yesterday when the schools were making their ways inside."

At these words both Neville and Luna both frowned heavily and offered their apologies to Fleur stating that not all English wizards are as arrogant or rude as Michael Potter. Fleur accepted their apologies but also motion for Harry to continue with his story.

"Anyway as I was coming out of the Library earlier Fleur thought I was Michael and sent a stinging jinx at my back, and you can tell Fleur is powerful as that stung like a bastard, however upon further inspection she realised I am not by brother and apologised for jinxing me. From then on I was helping her find the best books for tournament preparation."

Harry finished in a final sort of way and as he looked around past his friends he saw that many of the other Ravenclaw students had been listening in on their conversation so they could get the real story straight from the horse's mouth as it were. This did irritate him somewhat as he didn't seem to be able to have any private conversations in Hogwarts unless it was only him and his friends in the room. Most wizards had no concept of privacy or that sometimes people would rather release information about themselves in a controlled way, rather than shouting it from the rooftops.

However the time for irritation at the other students disappeared when the Headmaster stood from his chair and addressed the hall.

"If my timing is correct the goblet of Fire should be roughly one minute away from making its decision on the Triwizard champions so please stand by."

The hall was deathly silent as the amassed students waited for the Goblet to chose the champions for each of the schools, you could almost hear people's watches ticking as they were checked every few seconds before finally the Goblet's flames went from blue in colour to a bright red and spat out a piece of parchment.

Dumbledore caught the scrap of parchment in mid air and read it quickly before announcing it contents to the rest of the hall; "The champion for Durmstrang is...Viktor Krum!" The amassed students in their blood red robes broke out into applause and cheers followed by the rest of the hall, as Krum made his way to the front of the hall before being directed off into a side chamber. Most vocal out of the delegation from Durmstrang had been the High Master Karkaroff who had boomed over everyone else "Bravo Viktor, I knew you could do it!"

Dumbledore allowed the applause to subside before motioning for quiet again as the goblet expelled the second champion selection. "The champion for Beauxbatons is...Fleur Delacour!" Again the hall burst into applause though most people weren't clapping as hard as Harry, Neville or Luna who had received radiant smiles from Fleur for their reactions as she made her way to the front before also being directed into the side chamber. Harry did note however how some of the other Beauxbatons students didn't seem all that happy that Fleur had been chosen to represent them in the tournament by their dark glares and several of the girls from Beauxbatons bursting into tears after not being chosen.

Again Dumbledore allowed the applause to die down as the Goblet flared for a third time, this was it, and the champion for Hogwarts would be called upon in a few seconds. "The champion for Hogwarts is...Cedric Diggory!" If you had been standing outside the Great Hall after this announcement you could have sworn that a bomb had gone off at the sheer volume of the cheers that were coming from the Hufflepuff table. Cedric smiled broadly as he walked to the front of the hall and after shaking Dumbledore's hand he was also directed into the side chamber.

"Excellent, we now have our three champions-" Dumbledore started to speak but was cut off by the students staring at the Goblet of Fire that had changed colour once again to the bright red before a fourth piece of parchment was expelled quite forcefully from the flames. Dumbledore caught the parchment and after reading the name harry was sure he had seen a look of smug satisfaction had crossed the Headmaster's face before it was schooled to a look of worry and shock.

"Michael Potter!"

Harry looked across the hall to see his brother's face twist into a visage of surprise before he smirked and rose to meet the Headmaster at the front of the hall. The rest of Hogwarts had not been idle this whole time and the mutterings had been steadily getting louder before people started to call out that Michael was not old enough to be in the tournament and how he must be a cheat. Harry could also see that while Michael's female friends Ginny Weasley and the stuck up know-it-all Hermione Granger were looking concerned, Seamus Finnigean and Ron Weasley as well as a large majority of the Gryffindor table were looking at Michael with anger in their faces.

Fleur looked up from staring at the fireplace to see who had entered the room. She saw Michael Potter swaggering in and was extremely tempted to curse him where he stood for his previous actions but she restrained herself enough to simply ask him a haughty question.


	3. Chapter 3: Four Champions?

**Bold Text: Characters speaking in French**

 **A.N/ I was amazed when I uploaded this story and less than twenty minutes later someone had already read and favourited it! I wasn't expecting anyone to even see it for weeks, however such a strong response from this first reader 'SloppyBludger' and then all the other compelled me to keep writing more of the story. So here is chapter 3 after less than 24 hours, but don't get your hopes up that I will be updating daily. I only have half of the next chapter written and my muse frequently likes to abandon me to play Destiny rather than writing, but House of Wolves has just come out so there has to be exceptions somewhere.**

Chapter 3: Four Champions?

"What iz it? Do zey want us back in the 'all?"

Michael Potter simply smirked and was about to respond when the door behind him suddenly crashed open to reveal Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Barty Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Madam Maxime and finally Igor Karkaroff. Immediately Dumbledore went over to Michael Potter and forcefully asked him; "Did you enter your name into the Goblet of Fire?"

"No sir" Was said with the continuing smirk that Fleur longed to wipe off of his face.

"Did you ask an older student to enter your name for you?"

"No sir" Was again the answer. Here however Fleur's headmistress Madam Maxime cut into the conversation; "Ah but of course 'e is lying! 'Ow else would his name of come out of the Goblet!"

The Hogwarts champion then took this opportunity to ask the question that had been on all of the champion's minds since Michael Potter and the teachers entered the room; "Excuse me Headmaster, but what is going on?"

Before Dumbledore could respond Ludo Bagman cut across him with a gleeful expression; "Lady and Gentleman, let me introduce you to the fourth Triwizard champion!"

This statement left all three champions in a state of shock, but after a few seconds Fleur was able to respond; "Madam, do they really mean for zis leetle boy to compete!"

Fleur could see Michael Potter visibly bristle with anger at being called 'little boy' but he kept quiet as the other teachers were once again speaking. Karkaroff had been quiet for only a few minutes before cutting loudly back into the conversation; "I demand that the Goblet be relit so that we can resubmit student names so all schools may have two champions!"

"It doesn't work that way Igor. The Goblet has gone out and won't relight until next tournament!" Was all Bagman could say in response to Igor Karkaroff's demand.

"One which Durmstrang will certainly not be competing in!" Was the man's rather petulant answer.

After Karkaroff's outburst was over the greasy haired professor stepped forward and sneered at Michael Potter before addressing the room; "You shouldn't take it as such a personal insult Igor, Potter has been crossing lines ever since he arrived at this school. Apparently being a celebrity exempts you from rules, at least in Potter's mind!"

"That's enough Severus!" Came the sharp response from Dumbledore.

This set Karkaroff off again and before long he was ranting about how he had half a mind to leave now before the tournament had begun.

"Empty threat Karkaroff!"

Everyone looked round to see the source of the voice and their vision came across Alastor Moody making his way into the room with clunking footsteps due to his fake leg. "You can't leave now; your student has to compete. Now all this nonsense about Mr Potter having submitted his name is stupid to persist with, only a skilled Witch or Wizard could have hoodwinked the Goblet into accepting Mr Potter under a fourth school so that he would be the only choice. Such a confundus curse is way beyond the capabilities of a fourth year!"

"You seem to have put a lot of thought into this Mad-Eye!" Was Karkaroff's curt response.

"It was once my job to think like dark wizard's do, perhaps you remember Karkaroff!"

"Alastor!" This singular word sharp warning came from the Headmaster before he turned to one of the tournament organisers; Barty Crouch, who had been quiet up until this point and asked for his input as he knew the tournament's rules inside and out.

Mr Crouch took a while to answer and seemed to be mentally recalling the rulebook before speaking; "The Goblet of Fire undertakes a binding magical contract in which there can be no backing out of. As of tonight Mr Potter is a Triwizard champion."

The room fell completely silent at his words and almost in unison the room's occupants all turned to look at the Boy-Who-Lived who still looked somewhat smug that he was in the tournament before they all looked away again in mild disgust at his behaviour.

Ludo Bagman was first to speak; "Very well champions. The first task will take place on the 22nd of November and will be a test of your daring. For this reason we shall not be telling you what it is, and I'm now going to let Barty fill you in with the rest of the details." As he finished speaking he withdrew a handkerchief from his robe pocket and wiped his round face with it to mop up the sweat that had gathered due to his excitement in revealing the details concerning the first task.

"Yes thank you Ludo" Mr Crouch continued from where his colleague left off, although everyone in the room could hear his cold tone when he said Bagman's name, as if his mere presence was an insult to his person. "As Triwizard champions you are exempt from standard lessons if you need to train or study for the tasks, however we strongly recommend that you still attend some lessons as you never know what spells you might need in the days ahead. Secondly all teachers are barred from helping you out with tournament preparation so don't bother asking them. And lastly there shall be a weighing of the wands in a few weeks to make sure that all of your wands are operating at peak performance."

Here Dumbledore spoke up and addressed the room with his eye twinkle going at maximum shine; "Good if we are all done here then I suggest we turn in for the night. Michael and Mr Diggory, I'm sure you houses are staying up to congratulate you on being chosen so we don't want to keep them waiting much longer, off you go." Both Hogwarts students left the room shortly before Fleur and Madam Maxime followed them out.

 **"It's truly a disgrace to see cheating this early on in the tournament. And from our hosts as well!"**

Fleur agreed with everything her Headmistress was saying, but didn't verbally respond, only nodded along as they made their way back down to the carriage. However she almost ground to a halt when madam Maxime started talking about her friendship with a particular Ravenclaw student.

 **"However aside from the cheating I'm glad that you're taking the spirit of international co-operation so seriously. Only one day and you have already made friends with students from Hogwarts, although I am curious as to what you have been doing all day. I only saw you at breakfast today and then not again until you walked into the hall arm in arm with the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived!"**

There was ice in Madam Maxime's voice as she talked about Michael Potter, but also an almost gossiping tone when talking about Harry. Fleur felt herself blushing slightly at what her Headmistress was implying but she was quick to cut any misunderstanding off at the knees.

 **"I was in the Hogwarts Library Madam, my friend Harry Potter was helping me find information."**

Here Fleur paused in conversation and ponder briefly whether or not to tell her headmistress about the incident when they had arrived at Hogwarts that had led to Fleur meeting and becoming friends with Harry. Eventually she relented to tell her what had happened as she would have to tell people what had happened in the end anyway; however she was going to be careful about how she worded things as Madam Maxime was incredibly protective over her students, especially Fleur due to her status as part Veela.

 **"When we arrived at Hogwarts and were walking up to the school, that little boy Michael Potter decided that he would grope me. I slapped his hand away but I was unable to take any further action as it would have been my word against his as no-one else saw what happened."**

Madam Maxime made an angry noise that sounded almost like a growl at how one of her finest students had been treated. All because arrogant boys thought they could get away with blaming Fleur for entrancing them with her allure and get away scot free, whilst Fleur was vilified by everyone and looked down upon as being sub-human by the bigots of the world.

Fleur continued on despite the slight interruption from her Headmistress. **"The way I met Harry is that as I was about to enter the Hogwarts Library I saw a boy who looked like Michael Potter exit and it brought back the anger I had felt last night at him, so in my anger I cursed him. However I quickly learnt that I had mistaken his identity when he turned around and I saw his eyes were emerald green rather than being hazel brown, as well as no scar on his forehead. I immediately apologised for my actions, but to my surprise once he heard the reason for my cursing him he shrugged the incident off while calling his brother an asshole. I realised that Harry was immune to my allure after talking to him and not having him try anything or glazing over, so I decided to cultivate a friendship with him as someone I could really talk to without issue. He then helped me find information until we came down to the feast."**

Madam Maxime looked somewhat surprised at Fleur's explanation about how she had met Harry Potter and showed her displeasure that Fleur had acted on anger and instinct only, which had lead to her cursing an innocent boy. Despite this she was happy that Fleur had finally found someone who was immune to her allure and could be a true friend during what would be a difficult tournament.

 **"That's good to hear Fleur. I am not impressed that you cursed him and that's how you met, but he doesn't seem to have any hard feelings so I am all for you continuing to talk to this boy."**

They walked in silence from that point on until they were inside the carriage and were going their separate ways before wishing each other good night and retiring to bed.

Elsewhere in Hogwarts a certain Headmaster was quietly chuckling to himself, overjoyed that his plans were all proceeding on course and in good time. He knew that his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was not his friend Alastor Moody, but someone under the disguise of Polyjuice potion. Who the imposter was, was unimportant at this time, it was almost undeniably a servant of Voldemort. This was all good news for Albus Dumbledore who needed a new set of challenges for his weapon to complete, assuming the tournament didn't kill Michael Potter, but this wasn't the end of the world for his plans. He could always get Neville Longbottom in as his back up Boy-Who-Lived or Michael's twin Harry could be used as he seemed reasonably talented with magic, so there was no reason for panic. As Dumbledore popped a lemon drop into his mouth and savoured the slightly sour taste of the sweet he quietly thanked magic that most magical folk were so easy to manipulate and control due to being so gullible.

As Harry Potter readied himself for bed he could hear his dorm mated talking about how Michael Potter must have cheated his way into the tournament and how it was bullshit that the Headmaster was going to let his golden boy compete, despite not being old enough. For once it was good to be Harry rather than Michael Potter as Harry could hear his dorm mates talking about how much of an arrogant prick Michael was, and how Harry wasn't like that at all. As he began to drift off he was thinking about what might be in store for the champions of the Triwizard tournament, but he only felt a twinge of concern for his brother due to how badly he'd been treated by him over the years. He was however extremely worried about Fleur, too long had people only wanted to be friends with Harry because it would get them close to Michael, but now there was someone who just wanted to be friends with Harry Potter, his brother be damned, and he had to admit it felt good.

It was clear as day it the Great Hall the following morning that most of the students of Hogwarts had not been happy that Michael Potter's name had come out of the Goblet of fire. Normally the Gryffindor students got along fine with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students, but there was a definite tension between the tables and it wasn't simply due to the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry. The Hufflepuff students felt that Michael Potter had stolen away from their house and champion's glory by cheating his way in. As the house got so little glory most of the time to have a Gryffindor usurp them in their moment of triumph was making people resentful and angry. The Ravenclaws were almost as angry as the Hufflepuffs, not due to Cedric Diggory being chosen as champion as even most of the other houses agreed that he was the right choice for Hogwarts champion. No they were angry as the seemingly mediocre Boy-Who-Lived had somehow got past the age line set around the Goblet when none of the Ravenclaw students had managed to.

However what was causing some people to look surprised was how cold most of the Gryffindors were also treating one of their own, but Harry was able to get the low down on what had happened in the lion's tower the previous night. As it turned out most of the upper years in Gryffindor had been sick to death of Michael Potter's bragging and generally arrogant behaviour and this was just the final straw for them. Neville described that it was like watching a sacrifice being brought out when Michael Potter entered the common room of Gryffindor last night expecting a hero's welcome, and instead getting cold glares thrown at him from almost every direction. Even his long term mates Seamus Finnigean and Ron Weasley thought that he had cheated his way into the tournament and were giving him the cold shoulder as well as a wide berth. The only two people who believed that Michael didn't enter his name into the Goblet of Fire were Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. Granger believed him as she knew he was her mental inferior, and was firm in the belief that if she couldn't figure out a way past the age line, then it couldn't be done. She was also so incredibly stubborn and set in her ways that she would not listen to anyone else if they thought she was wrong which had led to the house elves of Hogwarts boycotting the Gryffindor tower as see pursued her mad crusade to free them, despite the fact that she had been told multiple times that they liked the work and if freed then they would most likely die within two or three years.

The only other believer was Ginny Weasley, but then she was so hard core a Boy-Who-Lived groupie that Michael could commit murder in cold blood and she's still testify that he had acted in self defence and that there was no other way. Almost everyone could see that she wanted to be Mrs Potter and wife of the Boy-Who-Lived when she was older, if only for the fame and money that such a marriage would bring. However almost everyone could see that Hermione Granger had already sunk her claws into Michael Potter and wasn't going to give him up without a fight, not when she could have the rich perfect husband that she could boss around.

Harry just ate his breakfast quietly, though inwardly smirking at how far Michael Potter had plummeted in popularity almost overnight. His quiet musing was brought to an end by the arrival of Fleur Delacour, whose presence was announced by almost all of the guys in the hall turning to look at her with lust filled gazes and the girls glaring at her. However Fleur ignored them all and instead scanned the Ravenclaw table until she saw Harry and Luna, and once finding them slid into a set next to Harry.

"Bonjour 'Arry."

"Good morning Fleur. Congratulations on being chosen champion, although as ever my brother found a way to ruin things."

Fleur smiled radiantly at Harry before speaking; "Zank you 'Arry, but your brother doesn't bother me. I got a partial revenge on 'im by calling 'im 'leetle boy' in front of everyone in the room last night!"

Harry laughed out loud at this statement from Fleur making several Ravenclaws turn to look at him and what had made him laugh out loud. "I think you may need to share that memory with everyone Fleur, I'm pretty sure you could become an instant hero and quite possibly a millionaire if you showed the rest of the school you dressing him down, and if you charged admission for it. Hell I'm pretty sure people would view it multiple times!"

Fleur laughed at Harry's suggestion and pretended to contemplate his idea which in turn led to Harry laughing at the thoughtful and slightly devious expression on Fleur's beautiful face. Looking around Harry could see most of the guys in the hall looking on in jealousy as he casually conversed with the French goddess, not being able to contemplate how someone like Harry Potter had caught her attention and kept that attention. Most of the guys would happily saw off their legs to get her interested in them.

It was several days later that badges started appearing on the chests of first the Slytherin students before slowly being integrated into the wardrobes of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students. What really shocked a lot of the school was that roughly half of Gryffindor house had started wearing the badges, they would have thought that despite being colder towards their 'champion' they would have supported him, but they were wrong.

These badges looked innocent enough when they were around, if slightly cruel towards Michael Potter, but due to his arrogant nature most of the teachers though it would be a good lesson in humility. The badges bore the legend; 'Support Cedric Diggory, the REAL Hogwarts champion'. However whenever no teachers were around and Michael Potter was within range the badge's message changed to say; 'Michael Potter is a lying, cheating bastard!'

Harry would have felt sorry for his brother, had he not been such a bully to Harry and his friends let alone after all the grandstanding he had done before the champions had been chosen. Harry felt that a good dose of humility was just what the healer ordered when it came to his brother. Although he didn't spend too much time thinking about his brother as he was busy helping Fleur prepare for the first task, he did wonder how infuriated his brother must be with Granger constantly lecturing him about studying for the first task and that he should always and readily accompany her to the library. Harry surmised that his brother must be blocking out the whining noise that was Granger as he hadn't seen him at all in the library since being announced as a champion and guessed his brother was rather arrogantly as ever assuming he would be able to wing it.

Harry was also becoming a much closer friend to Fleur then he originally thought he could ever be as she confided in him about her fears and thoughts about the upcoming first task as well as telling him about her life at Beauxbatons and how she was never able to get close to any other boy or man before due to her allure. In turn he confided in her about having to grow up in his brother's shadow when it came to receiving affection and praise from his parents, something that filled Fleur with rage that his parents could neglect him so. Harry had finally admitted to himself that he was attracted to Fleur, and not just her beauty like the rest of the school, he was attracted to her personality and her love to laugh. Her laugh was such a wonderful musical sound that Harry made a pact with himself to make Fleur laugh as much as possible so he could keep hearing such a wonderful noise. However harry was nothing if not a realist, why would the beautiful Fleur Delacour see him as anything apart from a friend bearing in mind he was three years younger than her and if she wanted she could get gods and kings to worship her on their knees. Why would she even consider it?


	4. Chapter 4: Wand Weighing

Chapter 4: Are you sure you polished the right wand?

It was a few weeks after the champions selection that Fleur was told by Madam Maxime that she was needed up at the castle for the ceremonial weighing of the wands. Once they arrived at the classroom where the ceremony would be taking place, Fleur found herself in conversation with the Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory. He was a pleasant person to talk to and she noted that although he was not quite immune to her allure like Harry was, as he had to shake himself now and then to stop him from glazing over, he was extremely resistant or had good self control. Like how she felt with Harry, she found this extremely refreshing to see rather than the vacant lust filled looks that men usually had around her.

Eventually their talk progressed beyond greetings and general information about themselves to where they were talking about their other competitors.

"So what do you zink of Viktor Krum Cedric?" Fleur asked after a few minutes.

Cedric seemed to hesitate slightly before answering, but she could have imagined it; "He seems like a nice enough guy. He is a bit moody and quiet but he did introduce himself to me and asked if I was a Quidditch fan, to which I replied that I was and both Captain and seeker for the Hufflepuff team, he asked if I would like to go flying with him sometime and he'd try and give me some tips."

Fleur was amazed from this description of Viktor Krum, she had always seen him as being a surly, superstar seeker who didn't like anyone or help anyone. It seemed however that she was wrong and Krum only seemed that way because he tried to keep as much attention away from him as physically possible much like her.

"Zats nice of 'im. I always thought 'e would be less friendly than that."

Cedric smiled at her before answering; "Well he's a lot nicer and grounded than our esteemed 'Fourth Champion'!"

Fleur noted that even someone as friendly and easy going as Cedric had some ice and venom in his voice when he spoke of Michael Potter which Cedric seemed to pick up on and explained his rather cold view on him.

"I never really like the loud mouthed braggart, hell even Malfoy is less annoying, but it all started last year when Peter Pettigrew escaped from Azkaban and they station Dementors around the school perimeter as they thought that he might break into Hogwarts to finish off Michael Potter. Anyway during a Quidditch match they invaded the pitch, all those happy emotions must have been like a buffet to them, and they went after Potter. I only saw that he had fallen off his broom after I had caught the snitch. I tried to get them to replay the match as the Dementors were an unfair element in that game. However after he recovered Michael Potter blamed me for not helping to fight away the Dementors. He had the gall to say that I deliberately didn't help so that we could win the match and that me trying to get a rematch was just a cover for that fact that I'd abandoned him up there, before ranting about how it would have been a walk in the park victory if 'I' hadn't stabbed him in the back. That's why I really can't stand the little prick, I try and to behave like the bigger man and get a rematch, and he throws it back in my face."

Fleur could genuinely understand that Cedric's resentment and bitterness over Michael Potter becoming the fourth Triwizard champion was well deserved and if anything she was seeing an even more arrogant and self-centred Michael Potter than she had been led to believe existed. In some ways she wasn't sure how that was possible for one person to be so self-absorbed, but Michael Potter had done the impossible by surviving the killing curse, Avada Kedavra, so what was one more impossible thing.

Soon however their talk turned to Fleur's fast work integrating with the locals. Cedric suddenly got a grin on his face which made Fleur feel slightly wary about what was going through his mind and hoped he wasn't about to ask about anything embarrassing.

"So Fleur, when did you become such close friends with Harry Potter? You sure do work fast, not even a day after you arrived and already making friends. Anything in particular that drew you to him?"

This last question was asked with a certain degree of hardness in Cedric's voice which threw Fleur slightly off balance as she didn't think that Harry and Cedric even knew each other. Nevertheless she answered his questions as best as she could.

"If you are asking if I only am friends with 'Arry Potter because of 'is brother than you are mistaken. His brother did something unbecoming to me the day I arrived at Hogwarts which made me extremely angry at the leetle boy. I mistook 'Arry for Michael and ended up acting without thinking and I became friends with 'Arry after realising my mistake for which I am grateful. He could have just told everyone what I had done and even more people would have lined up to vilify me. Instead he accepted my apology and then proceeded to help me and I know it's not due to my allure as 'Arry is immune to it. Anyway I didn't think you and 'Arry even knew each other, why are you acting so protective over 'im?" Fleur suddenly grinned evilly which caused a slight shiver to travel down Cedric's spine at the sight before she continued; "Is all this protection just because you want 'Arry all to yourself?"

Cedric turned bright red and started stammering at the rather blunt question he had just been asked; "No...I...That's not what I...What I meant is...Viktor help me out here!"

Viktor Krum simply turned around to where Cedric and Fleur were talking and with a hint of a smirk on his face he answered; "Sorry Cedric, but you are not my type!" Before turning back to speak to Ludo Bagman who seemed to be grilling Krum about Quidditch.

Cedric meanwhile was rendered speechless by Krum's answer to his pleas for help which made Fleur laugh out loud at how red in the face Cedric was and she couldn't resist adding another little crack about Cedric fancying Harry; "Well Mr Diggory if it's true love I shall not stand in your way!" This finally seemed to break Cedric out of his stupor and back into coherent thought.

"It's not like that at all Fleur. I simply respect him as a fellow student as I witnessed when Michael Potter tried to publically humiliate Neville Longbottom when Neville tried to become friends with him. I saw Harry step in and not only comfort Neville but punch his brother for all the vile things he had been saying to Neville about his family. That and the fact that Harry has never put up with his brother's crap, he has always stood up for people that are being bullied by Michael Potter. It is for that reason that I just wanted to make sure that you are interested in him as a friend and not as a gateway to getting to know Michael Potter, but you have shown ample evidence that you strongly dislike Michael Potter so I trust you with Harry."

"Zank you Cedric, but if you are ever uncertain, I'm sure 'Arry could be very open minded!"

Cedric tried to say something as a comeback, but Fleur had completely floored him for the second time today so he just muttered; "You win this round Miss Delacour!"

All conversations were suddenly halted by the door crashing open to reveal Michael Potter in all his smug glory, never mind that he was over fifteen minutes late for the weighing of the wands. Ludo Bagman however was unfazed by the small details of a champion being late. "Ah excellent our final champion is here now we can begin! If all the champions would like to sit down over here then we can begin."

Next Dumbledore spoke to the assembled champions; "Good afternoon to all of you, now I present our wand expert Mr Ollivander. He will be checking to make sure all of your wands are in peak condition before you are cleared to compete in the tournament."

Mr Ollivander was an old man with somewhat eerie eyes that seemed to see more than just what was in front of him, almost as if he could see the magic in people and wands.

"Might as well begin with ladies first, so Miss Delacour if you will." Mr Ollivander gestured to Fleur and she stood up and made her way over to the old wandmaker. Ollivander then proceeded to carefully run his hands over the surface of Fleur's wand muttering to himself; "Nine and a half inches...Inflexible Rosewood and containing...surely not?"

Fleur's eyes narrowed slightly at what the wand maker was insinuating about her wand core which was something she was very proud about; "An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela, one of my grandmuzzers."

Ollivander just nodded and muttered about how he didn't use Veela hair in his wands as they tended to make for rather temperamental wands, but it was fine if it suited Fleur. Fleur however felt slightly insulted at this man who she had only met a few minutes ago was pretty much saying that her and her wand were temperamental in their behaviour which Fleur felt was rather rude of the man. But she brushed off the feeling my simply scowling at him. Mr Ollivander continued to check over the wand for any bumps or scratches before making a bunch of flowers appear from the tip and after doing so he stated that the wand was in fine working order.

"Mr Krum, you next please."

Viktor Krum slouched forward next and presented his wand to Mr Ollivander for inspection who looked curiously at Krum's wand before he started to speak; "Hmm a Gregorovitch creation unless I'm mistaken, a fine wand maker, but not a style that I share. Now you wand is Hornbeam and Dragon Heartstring...rather thicker than most wands...ten and a quarter inches...hmm Avis!"

Krum's wand let out a blast like a cannon and several birds came out of the end and flew around the room before making off through the open window. Ollivander intently scoured the wand for any faults but after a few more minutes he handed it back to Krum saying that there was nothing wrong with it.

"Mr Diggory you next if you please."

Cedric stood up and walked calmly over to Mr Ollivander before presenting to him his wand in his outstretched hand. Again Mr Ollivander took several minutes to look over the wand before he started to talk about the wand's properties. "Hmm now this is one of my creations is it not?" Cedric nodded and Mr Ollivander looked all the more enthusiastic at looking over one of his own wands, which Fleur thought was rather biased of the man to act in a less than professional way when present with fellow wand maker's work.

"Yes I remember this wand well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a male Unicorn...a huge creature; nearly gored me with its horn after I plucked the hair from its tail. Twelve and a quarter inches...ash...pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition; do you treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night." Was Cedric's smiling response which Fleur couldn't help but tease him for; "Maybe not the only wand Mr Diggory polished last night?"

Cedric turned bright red again and several of the adults in the room coughed at the innuendo Fleur brought to light. Krum simply laughed and smiled at Fleur whilst Cedric tried to formulate words and failed miserably but was unable to stop himself from also laughing at Fleur's well timed joke. Michael Potter however was lost in the delusion that from Fleur making a risqué joke then she was more open to blatant flirting than she had previously hinted at. Michael thought that this would be something to cultivate slowly so that he could eventually date the beautiful French champion or something more than just dating.

After gathering himself and checking over Cedric's wand for several more moments, Mr Ollivander sent several smoke rings out of Cedric's wand before announcing that he was satisfied about the condition that the wand was in and handing the wand back to Cedric.

"Finally Mr Potter if you would."

Michael Potter swaggered forward to Mr Ollivander and even had the gall to wink at Fleur as he walked past, something that made Fleur grimace at the very thought of the boy being attracted to her. He then presented his wand to Mr Ollivander with a flourish.

Ollivander looked over the wand for a few seconds before he frowned; "While this is indeed one of my own creations, you don't seem to have been taking very good care of it Mr Potter. I don't think you have polished it even once and if you continue to treat your wand poorly then it will become unsafe to handle within a few years."

"Why would I bother polishing it, it's just a stick! Why waste my time." Was the rather child like bratty response from the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Well Mr Potter despite what you feel it is recommended that you treat your wand well as very rarely are there second wands that will be as good a match as your first wand is to you. A second wand may be a reasonably good match, but it will never be as powerful for you as a wand that matches you perfectly."

While Mr Ollivander was lecturing Michael Potter, Cedric leaned over to Fleur and stage whispered; "He does polish his wand a lot, it's just not the one that's useful or that has the ability to make people happy." This comment caused Fleur to giggle quite loudly at what Cedric was insinuating while Viktor chuckled at the knockout blow to Michael Potter's ego that had been thrown. Fleur was even surprised to see a slight smile on the face of both Mr Ollivander and Madam Maxime at the jab at the arrogant boy. Meanwhile Michael Potter was simmering with rage, but was unable to respond with so many people in the room with them.

""Still I remember you finding your wand Mr Potter, you must have gone through almost every wand in the shop before I found you a match, although not the one I thought you might be chosen by. Yes your wand is Holly...ten inches...with the feather from a Hippogriff. A wand useful for offensive magic but requires some skill to bring out its full potential."

Dumbledore then stood up and spoke to the room; "Thank you all for attending, now you may go back to your classes, but it may well be faster to simply go down to dinner."

However not to be outdone, suddenly Ludo Bagman jumped up exclaiming "Photos Dumbledore! Photos!"

"Ah yes, very well"

All of the champions bar Michael Potter groaned slightly at the prospect of having their pictures taken and having the reporter who had appeared halfway through the wand weighing ceremony, interviewing them. Or rather interrogating them if the gleam in her eyes was anything to go by.

Fleur had heard of this reporter before from her father. Her name was Rita Skeeter and if you were awarding prizes for the most lies and gossip in a single article, she would win hands down. So for obvious reasons, if asked for an interview, Fleur was going to as politely as she could decline.

The photos ended up taking a while as in the group shots Madam Maxime kept throwing them all into shadow as she towered over them all until she was asked to sit down for the photo. Rita Skeeter was adamant that as the Boy-Who-Lived, Michael Potter deserved to be at the front of the photo as he was also the youngest champion and would be facing the biggest challenge of them all due to this handicap. However Rita kept being usurped by her photographer who wanted Fleur to be at the front of the shot, but she resisted his requests for her to be at the front as she could see the rather lust filled gaze he looked upon her with.

After the group shot there was the single shots that seemed to drag on forever as the photographer took dozens of shots of each of the champions, before finally and mercifully they were allowed to leave. Rita Skeeter tried to get an interview with Fleur, Cedric and Viktor, but they all declined and instead she interviewed the very eager Michael Potter who simply strolled up to the reporter and declared he was the only one she should be interviewing. The other champions took this moment to leave before some other pointless task for them to do was dreamed up.

As Fleur and Cedric made their way down to the Great Hall they were surprised to see a tall figure waiting for them in the corridor outside. However this was a good surprise for Fleur as the figure was her oldest and only friend at Beauxbatons, Aurelia Beaulieu. Aurelia was almost as beautiful as Fleur despite not being part or full Veela, so she understood and sympathised with how Fleur felt. She was also looked upon by men with lust and women with dark glares for daring to be more beautiful than them. Initially Aurelia hadn't been coming to Hogwarts as she had been quite ill but as she was standing in front of them now, she had recovered and Madam Maxime had allowed her to come to Hogwarts. Fleur had practically ran at her friend to hug her before rapidly conversing in French to Aurelia to let her catch up with everything that had happened while she wasn't there.

Soon however Cedric cleared his throat as he was feeling somewhat out of place with the two witches speaking French and he wasn't sure if Fleur wanted to be with Aurelia alone. Fleur however turned round and apologised with a sheepish expression before introducing Aurelia to Cedric and vice versa.

"Enchante mademoiselle Beaulieu" Cedric said as he kissed her hand in greeting.

"Bonjour monsieur Diggory."

Aurelia had been slightly apprehensive about Cedric's intentions when she saw him with Fleur, but after several minutes of talk and Cedric not glazing over or trying something stupid to impress either herself or Fleur, she decided to trust Cedric as well. They were all interrupted by a grumble for Cedric's stomach, indicating how hungry he was; "Please forgive me ladies, I have not eaten since this morning so if you excuse me." And Cedric hurried off into the Great Hall.

Fleur and Aurelia shared a look of amusement before walking into the Great Hall as Fleur guided Aurelia towards a certain raven haired boy sat at the Ravenclaw table.

"Aurelia Beaulieu, meet my new friend 'Arry Potter."

"'Arry Potter, meet my oldest and dearest friend Aurelia Beaulieu."


	5. Chapter 5: Dragons at Hogwarts

Chapter 5: Dragons at Hogwarts

Aurelia looked at Harry intently which made Harry feel like he was under a microscope, she was looking for any indication that he was not immune like Fleur said he was to the Veela allure or that he was friends with her for an underhanded reason. Not finding anything in his face or eyes to suggest such an issue might exist she smiled at Harry and sat across from him. However before they could be properly introduced to each other an interruption came in the form of an obnoxious Gryffindor and his pet attack dogs.

"Hey there beautiful, why don't you ditch these losers and come sit with us at the Gryffindor table, I'm sure we will be much better company."

Harry inwardly sighed at his brother testing out his non-existent charm on someone who was not a Boy-Who-Lived groupie, and so would be completely unaffected by this pick up line. Aurelia simply smiled at Michael Potter and said; "Non merci monsieur." before turning back to speak to Fleur and Harry.

From a passerby's point of view it might look like Michael Potter was both constipated and having an aneurism at the same time as his face was both flushed a deep red and he had such an expression of being dumbfounded that it was almost comical.

"What do you mean no?"

Aurelia turned around to face the red faced boy again and with a rather patronising look on her face and a condescending tone replied; "Oh I'm sorry monsieur, I didn't realise that you were slow. I said no. I am perfectly happy over here with my oldest friend Fleur Delacour and her new friend that I have heard so much about, Harry Potter." It was a lie on Aurelia's part that she knew a lot about Harry from Fleur, but she said it as it had the desired effect of making Michael Potter not only leave them alone, but let him think that there was yet another older, extremely attractive witch who was interested in his not remotely famous brother , and not him.

"Zat was cruel Aurelia!" Fleur chagrined her best friend.

Aurelia simply smiled deviously at Fleur, causing both women to laugh at how little they cared at her being mean to Michael Potter.

Harry however couldn't resist taking a playful dig at Fleur for what Aurelia had said about how much information she had shared, even though Harry was pretty sure Aurelia had been bluffing to get his brother to leave.

"So Fleur how much does Aurelia know about me? I dread to think what embarrassing things you might have told her about me!" All of this was said with a slight smirk that Harry had been unable to stop from forming on his face which then persisted as Fleur spluttered in trying to answer him.

"I 'aven't told 'er anything 'Arry. 'Onest!"

Fleur then noticed how both Aurelia and Harry were smirking slightly at her and realised that Harry had been teasing her and was not angry in any way if Fleur had shared details about him to her friend. Narrowing her eyes she mock glared at Harry who paled and gulped theatrically.

"Now see 'ere Mr Potter, any more jokes like that and we'll see 'ow well you can sit with a burned bottom!"

Harry squeaked slightly and tried to hide behind Aurelia, sparking laughter from both Aurelia and some of the surrounding students, whilst pleading for help; "Please help me Aurelia, I have an angry woman trying to hurt me!"

Aurelia simply smiled evilly and replied; "Non I cannot 'elp you. We women must stick together. You dug your own grave Mr Potter!"

Looking around in mock panic Harry finally thought up an exit strategy for his predicament; "In exchange for my wellbeing, I won't tell Aurelia what you did to me when we first met Fleur!"

At his words Fleur blushed bright red and tried to turn around to not face Aurelia, but it was too late as the other French witch had perked up when she heard what Harry had said; "What 'appened when you met 'Arry Fleur? Come now don't be shy."

Fleur simply blushed deeper and refused to speak leaving Harry to fill Aurelia in on the circumstances of how they had met. Aurelia reacted a lot during Harry's tale; she first showed anger when Harry told her about how his brother had groped Fleur and Harry was certain he saw a dark look of revenge cross Aurelia's face. Next he told her of how Fleur had jinxed him outside the library, when she had mistaken him for his brother and she both laughed and shook her head at Fleur for her rash thinking. Finally he told her about what happened when Fleur realised that she had jinxed Harry rather than Michael Potter and the events that had transpired afterwards.

After Harry's explanation was over Aurelia turned to Fleur and asked in a small voice that was laced with mirth; "'Ow could you attack such a sweet, innocent boy Fleur! What monster did I allow to roam these halls?"

However Fleur's reaction to this was not what either Harry or Aurelia would have expected in these circumstances, especially after her previous reactions to this story being told. Instead of blushing and attempting to hide herself she grinned wickedly at her friend; "Well while we are being so open with one anozzer, why don't we talk about what 'appened with those boys clothes in our fifth year Aurelia?"

Aurelia's face suddenly changed from one of silent mirth to shock at what Fleur was about to tell to Harry in revenge to how she had been mock chagrined just a few minutes ago. Then her face turned into an almost identical sheen of red embarrassment that had graced Fleur's features just a few minutes previously.

"Non...I...I don't zink 'Arry needs to 'ear about that. You wouldn't dare Fleur!" Aurelia suddenly looked worried at the growing evil grin on Fleur's face.

"I propose a truce. You shall not pester me about 'ow I met 'Arry. And I shall not tell 'Arry about 'ow you stole those boy's clothes when they..." Fleur didn't get to finish her sentence as Aurelia had suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth to get her to stop talking.

"Truce! I call truce!" Was the only words out of Aurelia's mouth before she turned back around to see Harry breaking down in silent laughter at the show the two friends had just put on.

It was several days later the Fleur was approached by her headmistress Madam Maxime before being asked to come into her office aboard the Beauxbatons carriage to speak about a private matter. Fleur was slightly confused about what was so important that it needed to be said in private but she made her way back to the carriage and knocked on the door to the office.

 **"Come in Miss Delacour."**

 **"You wanted to see me Headmistress."**

Madam Maxime looked rather worried about something or other and this made a shiver go down Fleur's spine as this could not bode well in any way.

 **"Yes, it's to do with the first task. You will be up against a dragon, although I am unsure as to what breed it will be."**

Fleur's eyes went wide when she took in what she was being told before her brain kick started and realised that her Headmistress must had cheated in some way to know this information.

 **"But Madam you cannot be telling me this information, it is cheating..."**

 **"I know full well that it is cheating to be telling this information, but I will not have one of my students going up against a dragon without being prepared. I don't know what lunacy is going through the minds of the tournament organisers but not telling the champions that they will be up against dragons, and nesting mothers at that! I just could not keep you in the dark. And if it makes you feel any better I'm almost certain I saw Karkaroff in the darkness and I am certain that someone was following us under a disillusion charm or invisibility cloak with how twigs were snapping behind us."**

 **"Madam what do you mean by 'us'?"** Fleur was curious about how exactly her headmistress had learnt about the dragons in the first place if they were supposed to be a secret. However she was not expecting Madam Maxime to blush slightly before answering.

 **"I was shown them by the Hogwarts groundskeeper, Hagrid. He thought that I might find them interesting and they were, but he seemed to just love them."**

Fleur however frowned at what her headmistress was telling her about how she had come to learn about the dragons, she didn't feel it was fair to this man Hagrid about how he had been effectively used in order to gain information. He might seem to be somewhat simplistic when it came to how he spoke and dressed, but it was clear to see that he had a heart of gold when speaking to him.

 **"Madam I mean no insult when I say this, but did you seduce or lead on the groundskeeper to get him to show you the dragons. If you did then it was possibly the most immoral thing you could have done!"**

 **"No Miss Delacour, I did not seduce or lead on Hagrid!"** This was said with some force and Fleur looked away at her headmistress's words, however seeing this Madam Maxime continued in a gentler tone. **"No Miss Delacour, I did not seduce Hagrid. I find him to be an interesting and sweet man who just wanted to share in something he finds interesting when others only see danger. And I know you will understand this better than most, it is nice to see someone look at me, not with open mouths or scared eyes at my height. Monsieur Hagrid treats me like any other person and I am interested in getting to know another half giant. Know I believe that you have a fair amount of preparation to be getting on with Miss Delacour."**

 **"Oui Madam, and thank you."**

With that final farewell, Fleur left the office with her mind already in overdrive about what she would need to do and research so that she could take on a dragon. It did not hurt her pride to say that she was terrified of the task ahead and that she was unsure if she would even be able to complete such a task.

Fleur then spent the rest of the evening and a lot of the night reading about dragons and ways to combat them, unfortunately she didn't really find any information in how to deal with them, so tired and worried, Fleur collapsed into bed.

Coming into the Great Hall the following morning Harry was surprise and worried to see Fleur already there, but she was not glowing like she normally did in the mornings when he saw her. If anything she looked tired, worn down and if anything somewhat anxious. Making his way over to her Harry sat down next to his friend before asking; "Fleur, what's wrong? You look like you haven't slept at all last night."

Fleur turned to face him and smiled although Harry could see that it was very much a forced smile and that she was still a turmoil of emotions under the surface; "Morning 'Arry. No I 'ave not slept much. I was too busy reading last night."

"Well what were you researching, maybe I can help."

Fleur looked around nervously before she answered him in the same quiet tone that she had used before; "Not 'ere 'Arry. Too many people could be listening in. If you can meet with me before lunch then I will tell you what I 'ave been researching."

Fleur refused to say any more on the subject which worried Harry even more throughout the morning and he hardly paid any attention to his lessons since he was worrying so much about what could have scared Fleur so much. Finally lunch rolled around and Harry had been first out of the classroom so that he could get down to the entrance hall to meet Fleur. Harry found Fleur off to the side of the doors that led into the Great Hall and she led him into one of the ante chambers before she started to speak.

"It's about the first task 'Arry. It's...It's...the first task iz dragons 'Arry!" Fleur burst out before see started to visibly panic. It seemed like she had been keeping all of her emotions in check before now, but the catalyst of telling someone else about what she had to face had brought down her defences and she was on the verge of tears.

Harry made a split second decision that would either help his friend or earn him a slap. He pulled Fleur into a hug and without receiving the slap that might have happened; he proceeded to let her cry onto his shoulder whilst he tried to comfort her. Soon Fleur pushed herself away from Harry and scolded herself about crying like a little girl when that would solve nothing and thanked Harry for helping her through her moment of weakness.

Harry meanwhile had been furiously thinking about how he could help Fleur whilst he had been trying to comfort her and had just had what he thought was an amazing idea.

"Fleur, I think I might know someone who can help you with this."

Fleur was stunned at what Harry had just said, she had been expecting him to say that he had no idea where to begin with a task like this, but that he would give his all in helping her prepare. Seeing this look of stunned silence Harry carried onwards with his train of thought.

"I was thinking that my Godfather Sirius is the head of the Black family and has access to the library at his ancestral manor. I'm pretty sure that there would be something in that library that you wouldn't find anywhere else about how to combat dragons. I just need to write a letter to him about it and I'm pretty sure he would help out with something like this."

What happened next came as a complete surprise to Harry as Fleur suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace that seemed to have the purpose of squeezing the life from him and leaving him stuttering incoherently, before she pulled back and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you 'Arry. You don't know 'ow much I appreciate your 'elp in this!" Fleur then made to leave the ante chamber so that she could go and get some lunch, but she was halted at the door when she saw that Harry hadn't moved from the spot she'd left him at. He had a rather dazed expression on his face and was lightly touching the spot on his face where Fleur had kissed him. She didn't know it at the time, but that had been his first kiss from a girl and he had spaced out slightly because of it.

Fleur looked back at him amusedly before taking his arm to lead him out of the room whilst muttering; "Come on 'Arry I can't 'ave you spacing out on me now, you still 'ave a letter to write!"

After his afternoon lessons Harry wrote and sent the letter to Sirius asking about books on dragons so that he could help out his friend Fleur Delacour who was the French champion for Beauxbatons in the Triwizard tournament. Harry felt that telling Sirius exactly why he was asking was better than omitting certain truths that would come to light in the end anyway. Harry also thought that the Marauder in Sirius would take great joy in breaking the rules of not seeking outside help, although he was pretty sure this was a loophole as the rules only said professors. It said nothing about extensive pure blood libraries that just so happed to belong to the pseudo father of the friend of the Beauxbatons champion.

The response to Harry's letter came both swiftly and in person as the following morning Harry was surprised to see his godfather waiting for him in the entrance hall with a stack of books next to him. Upon Harry's approach, Sirius's face lit up and he smiled warmly at his godson who might as well be called his son these days before he pulled Harry into a fatherly embrace.

"Morning pup!"

"I wasn't expecting you to actually come and visit Sirius, not that I mind, and with such a stack of books."

"Can't a man see his Godson on weekends, especially when they present such interesting challenges as you have. Although I do admit that I am far more interested in this Miss Delacour that you spoke so highly of in your letter."

At Sirius's words Harry started to gain a tinge of pink to his cheeks and Sirius knew he had hit a weak spot in his godson's defences, but what made the moment almost poetic for Sirius was the afore mentioned Miss Delacour arriving behind Harry, just as Sirius was saying about Harry had spoken so highly about her.

"Awww, 'Arry you shouldn't 'ave!"

The casual passerby might think that Harry Potter was either suffering an amazingly high fever or he had been hit with a colour changing charm with how red his face had become in the space of a few seconds. Harry was so incredibly embarrassed that Sirius had said all of that right in front of Fleur that he was just wishing the ground beneath him would open up and swallow him whole so that he could escape this entire situation.

"You must be the Miss Delacour that my godson spoke so highly of in his letter, I must say he had never written to me for books before, he must really like you!"

"SIRIUS!"

Sirius simply laughed at the murderous expression on his godson's face that was directed at him before continuing to address Fleur. "I am Sirius Black; Marauder extraordinaire, retired Auror and godfather to this rather red faced young man."

"Bonjour monsieur, I am Fleur Delacour. Beauxbatons champion and friend to your godson."

"Enchante mademoiselle."

Fleur then turned to the still rather red face Harry who seemed to be unable to look her in the eye which made her smile before asking him; "When you said you were going to ask your godfather to bring some books to help, were you serious when you said he would bring the whole library?"

"He's not serious, I am!" Came the rather monotone reply from Fleur's left that originated from Sirius. Harry simply groaned and rolled his eyes before responding; "You do realise you wore that joke out the first thousand times you told it Sirius, and I didn't realise that he would have this many books on the subject Fleur. I was expecting him to only have a few, four at the most."

At these words Sirius tried to make himself look like a haughty pureblood Lord before interjecting; "I'll have you know young man that the Black family library is one of the finest collections in Europe!" Both Harry and Sirius looked at each other for a few seconds before they burst out laughing.

However it was at this moment that a less than welcome voice made its presence known; "Uncle Sirius what are you doing here?"

As Harry and Fleur wheeled round they saw Michael Potter standing a few feet away looking at Sirius, while completely ignoring Harry's presence for the most part, but was also glancing at Fleur every few seconds. Sirius didn't seem too happy to see his other godson, but he was too much of a nice guy to say anything unkind to Michael Potter, despite knowing how much of a brat Harry's sibling could be.

"Sorry Michael but I am here to see Harry and his friend Miss Delacour who asked me along to help with preparations for the first task. However since you are here then I can wish you good luck for the first task."

Michael Potter seemed to be having a hard time accepting that his favourite uncle was here to see his brother rather than him and having a feeling of disappointment within him he turned it into spite.

"Well no wonder they called you in Sirius, if all the French champion has got to help her is my brother then she is in serious trouble. In fact I am surprised they didn't run crying to you sooner."

"If you are so sure of yourself, then what is the first task?" Harry had had enough abuse thrown at him over the years that he had all but blocked out his brother's petulant speech, but at his insults at Fleur, he found himself unable to stop himself from defending her.

"Like I would tell you losers and take away my advantage in knowing something that you don't!" And with that he stalked off into the Great Hall.

Harry, Fleur and Sirius stared after him for a few seconds before they shook themselves and started to also walk into the hall towards the Ravenclaw table, however just as they were about to pass through the threshold, Harry saw Cedric Diggory coming down the stairs and it suddenly occurred to him that he might not know about the dragons.

After quickly telling Fleur and Sirius what he was doing he made his way over to the Hufflepuff champion. "Cedric can I have a quick word in private?" Cedric looked a little confused at Harry's request and some of Cedric's friends looked at harry suspiciously, but he allowed Harry to lead him out of the hall into the same ante chamber where Fleur had told him about the dragons the previous day.

"The first task is Dragons Cedric."

Cedric looked shocked at Harry's words, but he quickly recovered and asked in a hoarse voice; "Are you sure?"

"Positive, Fleur told me and she was fine with me telling you."

"Why are you telling me at all and why didn't Fleur approach me herself?" Said Cedric slightly suspiciously.

"Well with what the task is it would be dangerously unfair if Fleur and Krum knew what the task was beforehand and you didn't. Also Fleur didn't approach you as I just saw you coming downstairs and the idea that you might not know popped into my head, and in any case if Madam Maxime knew Fleur told you about the dragons, she wouldn't be happy at all."

Cedric seemed to accept this reasoning and he thanked Harry and made him promise to pass on his thanks to Fleur before he exited the room and rejoined Sirius and Fleur at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall.

 **A.N/ Before anyone tries to accuse me of being a sexist pig or something, I made it so Fleur has a moment of weakness to show that she is not infallible which makes the character easier to relate to. And in any case baring in mind that Fleur is only 17 and even though she has grown up with magic all her life she still has to take on a dragon so a brief moment of crying might happen to any of us. However as I said I will not be making her a weak character, far from it and I thought I better say this before I get flamed to hell.**


	6. Chapter 6: The First Task

**A.N/ I'm back! It only took me a month to write this chapter, but its hard to write when House of Wolves has so much for me to do and more than once I came off of Xbox having achieved nothing which didn't leave me in a writing mood. However to make up for this I have written a long chapter (or at least a long chapter for me) although I'm not sure if any further chapters will be this length or longer. I have also written out my ideas so I don't forget where I am going with this story so hopefully the next update won't be as long. Hopefully.**

Chapter 6: The First Task

It had taken both Harry and Fleur some time and many books before they found a spell that would be useful for the task of facing a dragon. The books that Sirius had provided had gone into some very dark parts of magic that were illegal in almost every country in the world, but due to the loopholes in British Pureblood laws and politics, Sirius was allowed to own the books if he said he wasn't going to use any of the illegal curses. Harry felt that this honour system was immensely stupid as someone like Lucius Malfoy would be able to own these books and lie about his intentions and the Minister of Sheep Fudge would believe him.

The spell that they had found was a borderline grey spell as it did have potential battlefield applications that weren't centred on distracting a creature such as a dragon. The spell in question allowed the caster to create several duplicates of themselves that would run around to distract and confuse an enemy as the copies would be unable to be harmed. Furthermore the copies would only disappear when the caster lost focus or they dispelled the illusions which would be handy as Harry and Fleur were unsure as to exactly what Fleur would have to do against the dragon apart from facing it.

Fleur had also been able to practice the spell in an empty classroom one Saturday afternoon and Harry had quickly become disorientated by the Fleur copies which were all trying to stun him and being unable to tell which one could actually stun him, Fleur was easily able to stun Harry when his back was turned towards one of the copies. Fleur had looked slightly guilty at having so thoroughly confused and stunned Harry, but he quickly put her guilty conscience to rest by saying how this was all just good preparation for the task that lay ahead.

However it was not all good news in the castle as Fleur had forgotten that as she had been leaving the Wand Weighing ceremony the parasitic reporter for the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter, had been descending on the Boy-Who-Lived for an interview when all of the other champions had declined her. Michael Potter had been all too eager to take part in an interview and Rita Skeeter had done her all too well known trick of filling her articles with very little truth and mostly fabricated lies.

Harry and Fleur had been eating breakfast in the Great Hall when there was a suddenly flurry of owls delivering the morning paper and they saw Michael Potter emblazoned on the front cover with his smug grin blasting out at full power. This was not what made people angry as they were used to Michael Potter being an arrogant asshole, what did make them angry was the headline on the front page of the Daily Prophet.

 ** _Boy-Who-Lived: Hogwarts Champion and Bullying Victim!_**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _Hello my faithful readers, here I bring you the latest news from inside Hogwarts about the famous Triwizard tournament that this time round might has ensnared an innocent boy in the binding magical contract that all champions of the tournament are placed under. The boy in question is none other than the Boy-Who-Lived Michael Potter who was forcibly entered into the tournament despite being only fourteen. However despite having such an enormous handicap of being three years younger than his fellow champions there has been no support for Mr Potter from teachers or other students, in fact the other students at Hogwarts have been reportedly bullying Mr Potter ever since his name came out of the Goblet of Fire on Halloween night. Michael Potter who is a sensitive and caring boy had this to say about his situation; "It's difficult not really having anyone to rely on anymore, almost all my friends think I'm a lying cheat and refuse to talk to me, and I never even wanted to be in this tournament anyway. I think I would have already broken down if not for the support of my friends Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. However it's not just my lack of friends that upsets me, it's also that almost the entire school had been bullying me when I have done nothing to deserve such treatment, even my own brother won't help me and instead panders to the needs of the French champion Fleur Delacour. I'm pretty sure she has enthralled him with her allure so that he will do her bidding!"_

 _Michael Potter was quiet through most of his interview and seemed to be scared of speaking out against his fellow students, perhaps he feared retribution when his story was printed. I however must commend Mr Potter for speaking out when the other champions from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang both declined to comment stating that they had much better things to be doing then talk to a reporter. When I asked Mr Potter's friends, Miss Weasley and Miss Granger who both are pretty young women, about what had been happening they were sympathetic to Mr Potter's cause and both irrevocably stated that they were going to support Michael Potter one hundred percent and they both fully believed him when he said he did not enter his name into the Goblet of Fire. In all the years this reporter has been writing articles and interviewing people I have never come across such a level of mass bullying against an innocent boy and I implore you my rabid readers to let the Hogwarts teachers know if you are angered by their inaction in defending a young boy. I must also say that I am shocked and appalled that Michael's brother Harry would turn against him so readily and I hope that he escapes from the French Veela's influences soon so that he can repair the damaged relationship he has with his brother._

Harry was beyond angry after reading the joke of a story that had been written by Rita Skeeter, not only had his brother made himself out to be the victim in everything, but he had glossed over the fact that Cedric was also a Champion for Hogwarts and that Harry was helping Fleur out of free will and not because of her allure. Harry knew that not everyone knew about Fleur's Veela heritage, but they would now and he worried about what the reactions might be from the notoriously bigoted purebloods of Britain. Feeling eyes boring into his back, Harry turned around to face the Gryffindor table and locked eyes with his brother who had a smirk on his face and a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes at the front page story he had been featured in. Even as people were reading the newspaper. Harry could see more and more people casting glances towards not only himself but Michael Potter and more worryingly dark glares towards Fleur who seemed to be doing her best to ignore the stares being directed at her.

Finally Fleur seemed to snap and she got up and hurried out of the hall with angry mutterings following her at every step before she passed through the threshold and away from the gathered schools. Harry wanted to follow her but due to his classes he couldn't and would just have to settle with finding Fleur later and reassure her that he was not helping her due to her allure, but due to truly wanting to help out a friend. Although Harry was still angry over the news article where his brother had played the victim card he tried to suppress his emotions as much as possible and take on the visage of being calm and collected, however this all came crashing down as he ran into his brother during the morning break whilst searching for Fleur.

Michael Potter was being accompanied by Hermione Granger who looked all too pleased at what Michael had said about the other champions and Harry in the Daily Prophet's article, which made Harry feel sick. Harry tried to ignore his brother's presence, but when he heard Michael mock how upset Fleur had been at breakfast after Rita Skeeter had effectively called her a manipulative bitch he snapped. Blood was pulsating in Harry's veins as he made a beeline straight towards his brother and as other students caught the expression on his face they quickly got out of the way but when they realised where he was headed they made sure they could see what was about to happen.

As Harry drew close to Michael Potter he heard him comment that Fleur must be sucking guys off left and right, as was fitting with her Veela heritage and he wondered if given enough time to cool off whether or not he might get a go. Blind rage clouded Harry's vision, and without thought of what he was doing or any potential consequences Harry drew back his fist and with all his anger behind him he planted his fist directly into the face of his brother. The after effects were almost instantaneous as Michael Potter was knocked down by the force of the blow to his head with blood streaming down his face due to his broken nose. Hermione Granger was the first to shout out her rage at Harry attacking his brother in such a manner but she was drowned out by the roar of approval from all sides of watching students who had all wanted to bring the arrogant prick that was Michael Potter down a few pegs, but they worried about what attacking a Triwizard champion might mean. Hermione looked like she wanted to hex Harry into the middle of next week but she wisely decided not to as she knew that many people disliked Michael Potter currently and Harry punching him would have the effect of making Harry Potter the most liked person currently in Hogwarts and hexing such a person would not be safe for her wellbeing.

Getting down low and speaking in a low but ice cold tone so that only Michael Potter could hear Harry conveyed to his brother exactly what would happen if he heard him talking about Fleur in such a manner again; "Listen up goat fucker! If I ever hear you speak about Fleur like that ever again I will curse you into the next millennium and that's after I let her do whatever she wants to hurt you and you know what they say about a Veela scorned. Here's a hint; it involves fireballs and sensitive body parts!"

Harry took a certain pleasure from seeing his brother's face whiten at the implied threat of bodily harm and his frantic nodding before Harry straightened up and walked off. Harry couldn't find Fleur for the rest of the day and he surmised that she must not have felt like being around people in the aftermath of the Daily Prophet article and would be best left alone until she was feeling more up to dealing with the inevitable questions that the article would have generated. However Harry was far from lonely for the rest of the day, especially during dinner as it seemed half the school wanted to come up to him and shake his hand or congratulate him for knocking his brother off his pedestal. Harry found this both amusing and slightly annoying as it showed just how much people disliked Michael Potter currently that they were willing to speak to the nobody that was Harry Potter and even congratulate him on his deeds rather than try and steal all the glory for themselves. Although Harry could see why they might not as the students had got what many had wanted, apart from kicking Misses Norris, with absolutely no risk of detention or punishment. Cedric had come over to the Ravenclaw table to tell Harry off for what he had done, but Harry could see that Cedric was just holding in his laughter as he told Harry to never do such a thing again, and Harry could tell that Cedric was just trying to keep up a certain image when in fact he would love to high five Harry for what he had done.

Aurelia had met up with the two of them towards the end of dinner and let them know that Fleur was alright but she was feeling a little unsocial at the moment, but she would make the effort to be at breakfast tomorrow as it would not convey the right message if people thought that Fleur was cowering in the Beauxbatons carriage. Harry and Cedric thanked Aurelia for passing on the message before they left the hall discussing the finer points of Harry's punching style and how he might be able to work on it. However there talk was interrupted when they heard voices around the corner that sounded like Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang. Falling silent the two boys drew closer to the voices as quietly as they could before peering round the corner. What greeted them was Luna backed against the wall as Cho and several of her friends laughed at her and taunted her for believing in creatures that in their minds could not exist. Harry heard Cedric draw in a sharp breath at what he saw his girlfriend doing to a fellow student and Ravenclaw. Being fin Hufflepuff Cedric was fiercely loyal to his friends and abhorred people picking on other simply because they were different and he could see that Luna's mask of dreamy indifference was starting to crack and tears threatened to spill that would only encourage the bullies more.

"Face it Loony, no-one wants you hear and I doubt even Harry Potter would care if you were to just kill yourself, he might even be relieved that he doesn't have to put up with you anymore, although that squib Longbottom might miss you as your likely going to be the only girl who'll look twice at him!"

Luna had no comeback to this as she knew that whatever she said, Cho or Marietta would twist the words to make more insults and belittlements. After being bullied pretty much since she had arrived at Hogwarts, Luna was used to insults but every now again she needed to let her emotions out and cry and she hoped with all her might that it would not be in front of these bullies as they would torment her with the fact that she had cried for the rest of their time at the school.

However Luna was saved from this by the loud and angry tones of Cedric Diggory echoing across the corridor; "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"

Cho blanched and turned round to see her boyfriend with a look of utmost anger on his face and she desperately tried to save face so that she could continue to date the true Hogwarts champion.

"It's not what you think Ceddy, Luna was just asking for some advice and it took more than my knowledge to answer her fully."

Cedric looked disgusted at how Cho could try and make it seem like she was trying to help Luna when he had caught her in the act of bullying Luna and suggesting that committing suicide was the right choice. He knew at this moment that their relationship was over and would never be rekindled as he now saw the true person that Cho was and he was reviled by her cruel personality and her completely uncaring attitude that she was causing significant mental anguish for another student.

"I know exactly what you were doing Cho, Harry and I heard you down the corridor and you were not helping Luna at all. More truthfully you were bullying her and I hate people who bully other like this, so consider yourself dumped and I sincerely hope that no-one else if ever drawn in by your cold manipulative heart again!"

Cho looked shocked at what Cedric was telling her and she seemed unable to talk for several seconds before she started spluttering; "But...but...it's...it's really not what it looks like!" Seeing Cedric's continued looked of revulsion and his hard expression she realised that there was no wining for her at this time and with a scream of frustration she took off towards the Ravenclaw tower with her sycophant friends in tow behind her.

As Luna watched Cho storming away from her she allowed some of her tears to silently slide down her face before drying them with a wipe of her hand as she turned to face Cedric and Harry.

"Thank you Cedric you scared the nasty nargles away."

Cedric simply smiled kindly as he wasn't sure if Luna really knew that it was people doing the bullying rather than one of her creatures but he wasn't going to correct her right now as she would still be fragile emotionally.

"It's fine Luna, now if the nargles come back and try bullying you again you let me know and I'll make sure that they leave you alone!"

Luna smiled at Cedric's promise and made to stand next to Harry as he had indicated that he was going to return to Ravenclaw tower with Luna so it would be less likely for her to be harassed while he was accompanying her. However as they were walking away from Cedric, Luna turned suddenly and spoke at Cedric without truly focussing on him; "Now you have escaped from the nargles you will find new love from across the sea." Luna then turned around and started off back to the Ravenclaw tower leaving Harry and Cedric to shrug at each other confusedly.

True to her word when Harry entered the Great Hall the following morning he quickly found Fleur in their usual spot at the Ravenclaw table although he could clearly see that she was keeping up a harsh glare at the various students who seemed to want to question her about Rita Skeeter's article. Fleur smiled at Harry as he slid into a seat next to her before she took on a stern expression that made Harry slightly nervous as to what would be making Fleur look at him so severely.

"What iz this I 'ear about you punching your brozzer 'Arry Potter!" Fleur asked pointedly.

"Well um...I...ah...he was staying nasty stuff about you and the red mist descended and before I knew what I was doing he was on the ground with a bloody nose."

Fleur looked at Harry sharply before asking in a quiet voice that sounded like she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer to her question; "What sort of things was 'E saying 'Arry?"

Harry couldn't look Fleur in the eye as it hurt too much to recall what his brother had said about her which led to him mumbling his answer. Fleur was not satisfied with Harry's mumbled answer and asked him as to why he was so reluctant to tell her.

"It's just I'm ashamed that the sort of foul things that he was saying came from someone who is a blood relative and more than that my twin brother. How could he say that Skeeter's article was right and that just because you have Veela heritage you must be a...a...slut!" Harry whispered the final part of his answer and he was hoping that Fleur had been unable to he him but from her upset and somewhat angry expression he knew that she had heard him perfectly. However Harry couldn't leave Fleur without all the information as someone would tell her everything that Michael Potter had said that prompted Harry into punching him.

"There is more as well Fleur, he claimed that all it would take is some time and what Skeeter claimed you were doing for other guys you would willingly do for him as you wouldn't care what he had said about you in the past."

Harry felt like scum as he watched Fleur's face morph from an expression of shock to cold fury before she finally did something that surprised Harry. Fleur smirked. This action confused Harry even more as he was expecting spell fire to be unleashed upon his brother and he asked why Fleur was smirking.

"Well it would seem zat Michael Potter 'as already been punished for 'is rudeness if the stories about how 'ard you 'it 'im ae true!"

Harry was gobsmacked at Fleur's response and it took him a few seconds to focus himself before asking the question that had been bugging him for a few minutes; "So are you angry with me Fleur for what I did?"

"Non 'Arry I am only disappointed you did not kick 'im in 'is leetle boy area once you 'ad punched him to the ground!" Fleur responded with a devious smirk that sent a chill up Harry's spine as he made the mental note never to piss Fleur off to the extent that his brother had as he could see that such an action would only lead to pain, long drawn out pain.

Michael potter was uncharacteristically quiet for the next few days that practically the whole school was talking about what he had been saying about the French champion and whether or not there was any truth behind it as well as how cleanly and quickly his brother, the until recently unknown to many students Harry Potter, had dealt with him. This allowed for Harry to have a slight period of almost celebrity status amongst the student population and it wasn't uncommon to see other students bowing to him as he passed when Michael Potter was also in sight of them which only led to Michael becoming increasingly grumpy and tetchy as the days went by.

However all this moody behaviour and previous boasting had stopped one morning several days before the first task when Michael Potter came down to breakfast he was looking visibly pale and sleep deprived. This was a new look intrigued much of the student body apart from the other champions, Harry and Aurelia. They knew that Michael must have found out about the dragons and was panicking as he only had a few more days to come up with a strategy in order to combat a full grown dragon.

The other champions had considered telling Michael Potter about the dragons when they first discovered them, but due to his arrogant and rude behaviour towards every single one of them they decided that until he changed his attitude, Michael Potter wouldn't be receiving any help from the other champions so that it would be a level playing field. Neither Cedric nor Viktor would say what they were going to be doing in order to get past their dragon as they were still competing against each other and they would all be in trouble with their head teachers if they were found out to be sharing strategies with their opponents.

As the day of the first task drew nearer Harry could visibly see that all the champions were looking much more pale and nervous and he tried his best to help Fleur as much as he could by helping her practice her strategy as much as possible, even if it did mean he ended up on the floor being stunned a lot. During the last few training sessions that Cedric has also come along to in order to get the most preparation that he possibly could, both Harry and Fleur noticed a new found closeness between Cedric and Aurelia that hadn't been there a few days ago, but they decided to not say anything and let Cedric and Aurelia decide if something was happening between them rather than being pushed into it by their friends.

The morning of the first task dawn bright and cold as was to be expected with it being November. All through breakfast Fleur could feel nervous butterflies trying to escape her stomach as she forced herself to eat something before the task even though she just felt like throwing up most of the time. Harry tried his best to calm Fleur down, but it was to no avail as it was all too soon that Madam Maxime was escorting her down to the champion's tent and she was saying goodbye to her friends. As Fleur entered the tent the other occupants looked up and Cedric tried to give her a smile but it was clearly forced as he looked like it was taking all his willpower to stop himself from shaking. Viktor looked surlier than ever but Fleur knew this was just his way of dealings with his fear and nerves. The most changed of all the champions was Michael Potter who sat off to the side and seemed to be almost hyperventilating, the cocky arrogant boy gone from his behaviour. Fleur almost felt sorry for him but she knew that after the task the cocky arrogant boy would almost certainly make its comeback with a vengeance. Soon the tournament judges entered the tent and Mr Crouch presented a silk sack to the champions before going over the task that would be ahead of them.

"In this bag you will draw the dragon that you will be facing and the number around its neck will indicate the order in which you shall face your dragons. The objective of this task is to collect the golden egg from your dragon and this must be done as each egg contains a clue to the second task that you cannot hope to complete if you are unable to obtain the golden egg in this task."

This seemed all rather straight forward when spoken but all the champions knew it would get rather more complicated when a living, breathing dragon was thrown into the mix. The bag was offered to Fleur first and she stuck her hand in and drew out a model of the common Welsh green Dragon which had a number two around its neck, this was slightly comforting it two ways as it meant she wasn't going first or last and she hadn't drawn out the Hungarian Horntail which was easily the most vicious of all the dragons that were at Hogwarts.

Viktor Krum went next and withdrew from the bag a model of a Chinese Fireball with a number 3 around its neck. Krum's expression didn't change much apart from a small amount of tension being released at the knowledge that he wasn't up against the Horntail either. Cedric then stuck his hand into the bag with a shaking arm which withdrew the model of a Swedish Short Snout with a number one around its neck. Cedric looked equally relived that he wasn't against a more dangerous dragon and anxious that he had to go first. All the champions knew that the youngest of them was to be facing against the Hungarian Horntail, which was not only the most dangerous of all the dragons, but would be last and he would have quite a wait ahead of him before he got to face his dragon. Sure enough when Michael Potter withdrew his hand from the silk bag he had a model of a Hungarian Horntail with the number four around its neck in the palm of his hand and he looked more scared than ever. Now all of the champions did feel sorry for him in some way due to the mountain he had to climb in his task against the Horntail.

Here Dumbledore began to speak and for a fraction of a second Fleur felt sure that she saw a gleam of satisfaction at Michael Potter having to face off against the Hungarian Horntail, but as soon as she thought this the gleam was gone and replaced with a look of concern; "Good. Now that we have our order Mr Diggory shall be going first and at the sound of the cannon you may-".

However Dumbledore was cut off from his spiel by a loud cannon blast from a nearby tent that signalled the start of the first task. This led to a loud cheer from the assembled crowd and before long chants started up for the various champions, although very little noise was being made for Michael Potter. Dumbledore gestured for Cedric to make his was down the steps at the far side of the tent that would lead down to the arena where Cedric would face his dragon. After gesturing to Cedric, Dumbledore and the rest of the judges hurried out of the tent to take their places at the judges table before the magically enhanced voice of Ludo Bagman boomed out over the area.

"Now the first task shall begin, up first and representing Hogwarts we have Mr Cedric Diggory!"

The crowd went wild at this announcement and Fleur could hear the chants being unified into; "Go! Go! Diggory!"

Fleur and Viktor then took this opportunity to wish Cedric luck with his task to which Cedric responded with a shaky smile before he steeled himself and walked down the stairs and into the arena below.

Harry watched as Cedric emerged from the tunnel that led from the champions tent to the arena and was almost deafened by the roar of the crowd as they all saw Cedric as well. However the crowd then quieted down so that Cedric could fully concentrate of the task ahead as the dragon he had to face was already in the arena and was looking at Cedric with suspicion. Almost immediately Cedric started to transfigure rocks inside the arena into various animals in an attempt to try and confuse and distract the Swedish Short Snout from him so that he could get to her nest and the golden egg he required. However the transfigured animals did not quite have the desired effect as they did distract the dragon, but only for a few seconds at a time before the dragon simply lost interest in them in lieu of a much bigger target being nearby or that the dragon seemingly found them annoying and blasted them with fire, incinerating them instantly.

This led to Cedric having to make very slow progress towards the nest as he was almost constantly having to transfigure and conjure up new distractions for the Swedish Short Snout. Eventually after almost fifteen minutes Cedric was within a few feet of the nest and with a burst of energy he transfigured a nearby rock into a large golden Labrador and set it off running towards the outskirts of the arena in the hope that he dragon would be distracted by something larger than previously transfigured and would give chase. This did happen and with a feeling of elation Cedric darted towards the nest and picked up the golden egg before tucking it carefully in the crook of his arm before turning around to leave the arena. However the first clue that Cedric got that something was wrong was when suddenly someone from the crowd screamed and Cedric looked round to see that the Swedish Short Snout had stopped chasing the Labrador and was coming at him now. This kicked into overdrive the primitive part of Cedric's brain that was screaming at him to run as fast as he could which was exactly what he did. Unfortunately for Cedric he had used up a lot of his reserve energy transfiguring so many rocks into animals that he was not as fast as he would have liked and as he was about to pass the wards that protected the crowd the dragon breathed fire at him and a goof portion of his shirt caught fire. Cedric kept running while he tried to douse the flames and eventually he succeeded in both putting out the flames and getting within the ward boundary that prevented the dragon from harming him any further. However despite being able to put out the fire Cedric had still been burnt quite badly due to the intense heat that was in dragon flame and if he could guess through his pain that most of his torso and part of his head would be badly burnt and he would need Madam Pomfrey's help very soon.

As Harry and many other Hogwarts students looked on in fear about what might have happened to their champion it was so quiet that the quiet twittering of one of the few birds the Short Snout hadn't incinerated was easily heard throughout the stands. Soon though one of the dragon handlers appeared by Bagman and whispered something in the man's ear. Bagman looked relieved before he straightened up to address the crowd; "I have just been informed that Mr Diggory has indeed completed this task with the required golden egg having being retrieved. In addition he is being treated for his injuries as I speak to you now and he is fully expected to recover soon!"

This announcement led to sighs of relief spread through the crowd before they applauded Cedric for the completion of his task. Soon however the Swedish Short Snout had been led away and the Common Welsh Green had been led into the arena with a new golden egg having been placed inside its nest before the dragon had been brought in.

"Miss Delacour if you would please enter the arena!"

Back in the tent Fleur was all but shaking from fear and nerves about what was to come and she barely heard Viktor wish her luck before she too had descended the steps that led into the arena where she would face off against her dragon.

Harry was also feeling nervous as he saw Fleur emerge from the tunnel as although he knew he had helped Fleur to practice her strategy extensively it was all well and good against him in a classroom, it was completely different out here with a living, fire breathing dragon. Harry knew that what he was feeling was fear and concern for his friend, but there was also something else there in the middle of his other emotions that he couldn't quite place but he was sure that it wasn't a negative feeling, just something he couldn't explain in how he felt about Fleur right now.

While the cheering for Fleur hadn't been as loud as it had been for Cedric it was at least more than just Harry, Neville, Luna and Aurelia cheering for her which gave Fleur a boost of confidence. As the crowd quieted down once again fleur cast her spell that she had been practicing with Harry for several weeks now; "Hominis Duplicatio!"

Immediately an illusion clone of Fleur appeared beside her and after casting the same spell twice more for a total of three illusions and Fleur herself she sent off the mental command that all the illusions should move from cover to cover in different parts of the arena so as to confuse the Common Welsh Green as much as possible. This worked almost exactly as it had in the classroom when Harry and Fleur had been practicing the use of the spell as the dragon started to look between the illusions and Fleur trying to decide which one to watch and which ones to leave alone, but after a minute the dragon decided to go for the illusion that was almost on the opposite side of the arena to where the real Fleur was hiding. Fleur had considered disillusioning herself to give her an extra edge against the dragon, but she ultimately decided against it as the illusions needed a lot of power and concentration to keep active and she didn't want one or either of the spells to end if she couldn't maintain them any longer.

Fleur stayed low to the ground and darted in and out of cover behind some of the larger boulders in the arena, trying as much as possible to not be visible for very long so that the dragon would be less likely to spot her. After a little over seven minutes Fleur had made it to the nest and had grabbed the golden egg before she started her trip back towards the tunnel. In order to aid her escape she instructed the illusions to start making their way towards the nest in order to trick the dragon into thinking that they were trying to take the eggs of her young and diverting any attention away from Fleur's current position.

The distraction worked and with no problems Fleur made it back to the tunnel and through the ward boundary before she lifted her spell making the illusion versions of her disappear making the Common Welsh Green look round in confusion before roaring about loss of its prey. It was at this moment that the crowd burst into applause and congratulatory shouts which made Fleur smile as she made her way towards the medical tent to make sure that she didn't have any injuries and to rest as it had taken a lot out of her to keep the illusions active for a long period of time. Part of the reason why Fleur wanted to go into the medical tent was to try and see Cedric and learn just how bad his injuries were as she had heard the screams of the crowd and the announcement by Bagman, but she knew that he might well have announced that Cedric was on the road to recovery simply to calm the crowd. However as Fleur entered the tent she clearly saw Cedric sitting down on one of the beds covered from the waist up in bandages and paste, this made her freeze for a few seconds, fearing the worst before Cedric smiled at her and alleviated her fears.

"It's alright Fleur, while my injuries were severe, they aren't life threatening and under Madam Pomfrey's care I'm sure I'll be up and about soon." Seeing the look of uncertain disbelief on Fleur's face Cedric then elaborated; "Yes it does hurt like hell and I would probably be screaming if I hadn't been giving pain relieving potions but it's already looking better than it did ten minutes ago and anyway my injuries are boring. I want to know how you got past your dragon Fleur!"

Relived that Cedric really was going to be alright Fleur started to tell him about how she had got past her dragon and the events beforehand that had allowed Fleur to find the spell that she used, although Fleur did omit a few details so to not embarrass Harry with what Sirius had said when she had met him.

Soon however their attention was grabbed by the announcement that it was Viktor Krum's turn to fight his dragon, the Chinese Fireball. This announcement was followed by and almost tribal chant from the crowd of; "Krum! Krum! Krum!"

In the stands Harry was in two minds about Viktor Krum as on the one hand he saw a surly and unsocial Quidditch player, but he had heard from both Fleur and Cedric that once you got past his exterior, Krum was actually quite a nice person and the attitude that he showed the world was simply a facade to keep some of the more pushy fans at arm's length. However Harry wouldn't let his uncertainty stop him from cheering for Krum along with the rest of the crowd and so joined in with enthusiasm before growing quiet to let Krum concentrate.

What happened next was over so quickly that only those using omnioculars would be able to see what had just happened. It all started with Krum shooting a spell at the eyes of the Chinese Fireball and suddenly the dragon was roaring in pain and stampeding around the arena crushing many of the real eggs in the nest almost into dust. The dragon was charging at Krum as in the dragon's mind it knew the source of its pain came from that direction and that the one who had caused it pain needed to be eliminated. Luckily for Krum though was immediately after casting his spell he had started to run towards the nest in a curved path that was out of the Fireball's charge path, but that would bring him to the nest quickly. The Fireball had stopped it's charge when it came into contact with the side wall and almost knocked itself out but kept upright due to the fact that it hadn't heard one of the two legged ones with a stick cry out in pain from its charge and knew the human must still be there somewhere. It was at this point that the maternal instinct in the Fireball kicked in and suddenly the dragon was making its way back to its nest at a thundering pace. Krum looked round to see the Fireball bearing down on him and in a split second he dived away from the nest with the golden egg in one hand and shooting another spell towards the dragon with the other hand. The spell missed its mark but the blasting curse still impacted on the dragon's side making it roar in pain once again and stop for a few seconds that allowed Krum to pull himself to his feet and run to the exit which he got to just as the Fireball let loose a stream of fire.

Harry applauded along with the rest of the crowd, but he felt that Krum might well be marked down as he was fairly sure that damaging the real dragon eggs would count against him and lose him points. However Krum had completed the task and that only left Harry's brother Michael as the only champion left to face his dragon. As the Chinese Fireball was led away and the new dragon was carefully brought in Harry winced slightly as he recognised the new breed of dragon as being a Hungarian Horntail, which Harry knew was one of the most vicious and dangerous breed of dragon in the world.

"And finally Mr Potter if you would please enter the arena!" Came the voice of Ludo Bagman signalling that the last match off champion versus dragon was about to commence and a small part of Harry hoped that his brother had properly prepared for the task that lay in front of him as if he messed up here, Harry might well be an only child by the end of the day.

As Michael Potter emerged from the tunnel there was no loud cheering or chanting of his name, he was met with simple silence and the occasional heckle from the Slytherins. Harry could see that his brother was extremely pale and was most likely doing his all to not throw up right now and embarrass himself in front of the entire school. As the task started Michael Potter immediately took cover behind a rock to protect him from the jet of fire the Horntail had sent at him as soon as he had left the safety of the wards. As Michael cowered behind the rock without any foreseeable plan Harry heard from the crowd the shrill tone of Hermione Granger shouting for Michael to use his wand to which Michael shouted while moving his hand in a complex pattern; "Accio Firebolt!"

This is where everything fell in to place for Harry and realised what his brother was going to try and do, he was going to use his Firebolt broom to out fly the Hungarian Horntail. Knowing his brother's overly exaggerated skill on a broom Harry wasn't sure if this plan was sheer idiocy or had a touch of genius to it, but he would know soon which it was as he heard a rushing sound as the Firebolt flew over the crowd and soared towards Michael who took a run up before leaping onto his broom and taking off into the air. This action caused many in the crowd to gasp, but a few cheered Michael on for his death defying stunt against the dragon.

Harry then watched his brother attempted to get the Hungarian Horntail to get up off the nest that it was guarding so that he could take the golden egg. However the Horntail was extremely reluctant to leave the nest and Michael Potter had to resort to flying around in a complicated pattern to try and get the Horntail confused enough that it had to take flight in order to chase him properly. After dodging a jet of fire Michael Potter dived towards the ground before rising up high in the air with the head and neck of the dragon following him up like a giant version of a snake charmer. This proved to be too much for the Horntail as it started to unfurl its wings and take flight but Michael Potter was already speeding towards the ground at an incredible pace, however Harry could see that his brother had not waited long enough for the horntail to properly take off and be clear of the nest before he went near it and as a result as Michael Potter flew over the nest and grabbed the golden egg, the Horntail saw him near her eggs and with a roar of fury whipped her tail round so that it collided with Michael Potter in mid air.

This collision led to Michael Potter's broom shattering under the force of the Horntail's spiked tail and Michael Potter himself being slammed into the side of the arena before he fell down unconscious from the force of the impact against the wall. Members of the crowd screamed out in shock and fear when they saw Michael Potter get hit with the tail of the Horntail and the dragon handlers rushed in to the arena to rescue the incapacitated Michael Potter and subdue the dragon so that it would not try to hurt him anymore. Soon the dragon was pacified and Michael Potter was floated out of the arena by Dumbledore in the direction of the medical tent. The end of the task meant that Harry was finally allowed to leave his seat and find Fleur to congratulate her on her amazing performance against the Common Welsh Green as well as congratulate Cedric and Viktor on their victories as well.

Making his way into the medical tent Harry looked round for Fleur when suddenly his vision was obscured by a lot of silver hair as Fleur pulled him into an embrace. This made two things happen. One was that Harry surmised that Fleur was happy with the help that Harry had provided and was showing him said thanks. The second was rather more embarrassing for Harry as he was acutely aware of Fleur's extremely feminine body was pressed up against him quite tightly which led to Harry having to not only get his breathing under control, but also try and not allow any part of him to get too excited as if anything were to happen he might well have to jump into a pit with the Horntail his brother had just faced in order to escape the embarrassment that would follow.

However Harry was saved from this potential embarrassment by voice off to his left that sounded amused at the spectacle before her; "Well now Fleur, what do you call zis? Are you trying to suffocate 'Arry?"

Fleur blushed at her friends words when she realised how tightly she had been holding Harry and how close his head had been to being buried in her cleavage which probably explained why he was so red in the face although she was secretly quite pleased that someone who was immune to her Veela allure was still just as susceptible as any other man to her womanly attributes which she felt was something she could tease him about for months to come.

"Non Aurelia, I was simply zanking 'Arry for all the 'elp 'e provided in the run up to the first task!"

"Hmm" Aurelia mused "Don't people normally say zank you to someone who 'as 'elped them rather than trying to squeeze the life out of them?"

Fleur just shushed her friend as Cedric came over carefully. Harry easily noticed the bandages on Cedric as they were hard to miss as they covered much of his upper torso. Noticing what Harry was looking at and the concern in his eyes, Cedric was quick to alleviate him of any concerns by telling Harry how quickly he was recovering with the help of Madam Pomfrey's potions and healing paste.

After confirming that both Fleur and Cedric were fine and would be in full fighting condition by the next task the talk turned to the fourth champion and what had caused the crowd to act it such a way, so Harry started to explain to Fleur and Cedric who hadn't seen the final fight what had happened.

"Well it all started pretty normally." Harry began drawing on his recent memories even if they were slightly foggy due to what had eventually happened to his brother, which had slightly messed with his recollection of the events, however he pushed this feeling down and focussed on telling his friends what had caused the crowd to act the way that it did.

"My brother started to take cover behind a boulder as the Horntail was on him pretty much the second he walked through the ward boundary and he looked like he was going to be hiding there for the rest of the task until his friend Granger shouted at him to use his wand. He then used the Accio spell to summon his Firebolt to him and began flying around in an attempt to get the Horntail off of the nest so he could get the golden egg."

Here Cedric interjected with a few of his thoughts; "It's weird, I would have never have thought to use my broom during this task. Though I probably wouldn't have used it even if I had thought to use my broom, as I wouldn't want it to get damaged which it easily could."

"Yeah about that." Fleur and Cedric both looked round sharply when they heard the tone in Harry's voice; "Michael was flying around and had successfully got the dragon to get off of its nest as it couldn't reach him at the height he had gone to, but he tried to take the golden egg too soon and hadn't allowed enough time for the Horntail to take off. He got the golden egg but as he was trying to get away the Horntail smashed him off his broom with its tail. The broom shattered under the impact and he was sent straight into the wall with such a force that he was knocked unconscious and the dragon handlers had to step in to make sure the dragon didn't eat him or anything."

This piece of information shocked both Cedric and Fleur quite deeply as they may not be overly fond of Michael Potter, but they wouldn't want to hear that he had been eaten by a dragon while trying to complete the task. However they were torn from their thoughts when the unconscious form of the aforementioned Michael Potter was being levitated by Dumbledore onto a nearby bed. Once he was on the bed Dumbledore allowed Madam Pomfrey to perform her diagnostic spells to see the best course of treatment. As it so happened apart from being unconscious, Michael Potter had had a very lucky escape and was relatively uninjured so she gave him a pain potion and enervated him. Once enervated Michael Potter shot up and looked around wildly before realising he was in the medical tent and the dragon was nowhere near him he relaxed back on the bed, not realising that his brother was standing only a few feet away. However before Harry could make his presence known Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley entered the tent, although it was clearly obvious that Ron Weasley was not the really wanting to be there. Harry remembered that Michael's so called best friend had been refusing to talk to him for weeks as he resolutely believed that Michael had entered his name willingly into the Goblet of Fire and was nothing but a fame hungry bastard, which at times he was, but that was beside the point. It looked like Weasley was about to apologise for his actions and Harry was pretty sure that this signalled the apocalypse.

"Hey...hey Michael." Was Ron's rather shaky start to the impending conversation.

"Ron" Was the rather cold response from Michael.

"I was wrong. This tournament is dangerous and you got hurt in the first task, so believe you now that you didn't enter your name into the Goblet."

"Finally cottoned on have you?" Michael continued to be cold and Harry could tell that Ron not believing him after being friends for so long had hurt him and was not just going to forgive him and move on because Ron was being pushed into an apology by Hermione Granger.

"Yeah I guess I deserved that. You did have the worst dragon by far at least according to Charlie and he was worried when he saw that you were going up against it."

This brought Michael up short, he had been about to start the process of forgiving his friend, but after hearing that Ron had had prior knowledge of the dragons he was bordering on blowing up. He had only found out about the dragons from Hagrid a few days ago and had only come up with a shaky strategy within the last twenty four hours so the knowledge that he could have known for weeks about the dragons left a very bitter taste in his mouth.

"Ron leave."

"What?"

"Get out. You had knowledge about these damn dragons for weeks and because of your petty jealousy you decided not to tell me and I could have died against that Horntail if my broom hadn't taken most of the impact of its tail. Maybe we can be friends again soon but right now I am trying to not punch you so leave."

With these words Ron gaped for a few seconds before receiving a pointed glare from Michael that prompted him to leave. Hermione then tried to interject her opinion in the matter which is something that neither Michael nor Harry wanted at this moment so Michael cut her off.

"No Hermione I will not forgive him today. Maybe soon I can but he knew about the dragons and because he couldn't take me being in this tournament due to his inferiority complex I was put in mortal danger, so until he can see how petty and vindictive that was he will remain not forgiven."

Hermione seemed to still want to say something but kept quiet due to agreeing with what Michael had said as she hadn't known that Ron had known about the dragons before today and was rather angry with him as well right now. At this moment the various champions gathered in the medical tent then heard the voice of Ludo Bagman asking for the champions to come outside to be presented with their points and placement after the first task.

As they made their way outside all of the champions were met with cheers and shouts of encouragement from the crowd, even for Michael now and it looked like the fickle students had decided that Michael did belong in the tournament and that he deserved their support.

"Ah here come our champions now. Right then in fourth place with 35 points we have Mr Michael Potter!"

A good portion of the crowd cheered at this although a little half heartedly from some as the Boy-Who-Lived for all his bragging about his skills previously to the tournament had only placed fourth.

"In third place we have Mr Cedric Diggory with a total of 40 points!"

The Hufflepuff contingent of the students cheered loudly at this as their champion had beaten the Boy-Who-Lived even if he wasn't in first place.

"Now the next two placements are very close but in second place with 45 points we have Mr Viktor Krum and just ahead of him with 46 points is Miss Fleur Delacour!"

The stands erupted in cheers for Krum placing second although some boos from the Slytherins could be heard at awarding Fleur first place but Fleur hardly heard them as she was so surprised that she placed first. Suddenly she was pulled into a hug by Aurelia who was ecstatic with how well her friend had done and was now being congratulated by her, Harry and Cedric.

Turning to Harry she thanked him once again for his help; "Zank you 'Arry."

Turning slightly red again Harry just mumbled; "Wasn't a problem Fleur."

"Non I am serious 'Arry, I could not 'ave done this without your 'elp!"

Harry suddenly had a gleam of mischief in his eyes as he replied to Fleur in a monotone voice; "No you're Fleur. Sirius is my godfather!"

This led to everyone in the near vicinity groaning at the bad joke that was being run into the ground by Harry while Cedric just shook his head at the whole situation while trying not to laugh.


	7. Chapter 7: The Yule Ball

**A.N/ I'm back again in only about a week this time. Recently I've been finding it easier to write but my itunes is currently my best friend while doing so and if I was to lose my music I think this story might be doomed. However that is unlikely to happen as I already have an ending planned for this story and first I have to write the rest of it.**

Chapter 7: The Yule Ball

It had been a few weeks since the first task and Harry was still being teased by Cedric and Aurelia that Fleur had managed to sneak up on him and pull him into a hug that pulled him off balance. Had Harry been standing up straight he would have only been slightly shorter than Fleur herself, but due to the odd angle at which he was grasped at, Harry had been somewhat slanted across Fleur which led to his rather embarrassing encounter with Fleur's body. Harry hoped that both Cedric and Aurelia would forget about this incident soon, or that he would need to learn how to obliviate people really quickly so he could escape the innuendos and jokes.

However something that was more of an irritation than his friends teasing him was the sheer number of people who had come up to Harry since the first task and asked him bluntly if he was in a relationship with Fleur Delacour. At least that was the polite way that the other students asked, the rather ruder way was that other students, usually older and male, would loudly enquire as to what spells or potions Harry was using on Fleur that made her want to spend time with him. Harry had found out that somehow the parasitic reporter Rita Skeeter had somehow managed to get a picture of Harry and Fleur hugging and had blazoned it across the next issue of the Daily Prophet along with the headline;

 **French Veela ensnares brother of the Boy-Who-Lived**

To say Harry was angry at this would be like saying that Voldemort had only been trying to maim or seriously injure Harry and Michael Potter that fateful night. He was livid that such a personal moment had been perverted by a nosy reporter with no morals and had no respect for people's privacy.

Fleur had also had a wide range of critics from some of her fellow Beauxbatons students to random members of the British wizarding public who believed that Harry Potter while not being his brother deserved someone better than a half Veela and the last group being angry or jealous boys from both Hogwarts and Durmstrang who wondered what she saw in him despite the many times that both Fleur and Harry had stated that they weren't dating.

Although had Harry been able to answer truthfully he would have said that they were not dating, but that he wouldn't mind in the slightest if Fleur wanted to date him as Harry was slowly but surely becoming increasingly attracted to Fleur Delacour. Some might say that this attraction was nothing more than the same feelings that all of the other mindless idiots who had no resistance to the Veela allure (or simply didn't try) had for Fleur Delacour, but they would be wrong. Harry wasn't just attracted to Fleur physically and Harry did admit in his own head that he would have to be homosexual or dead to not find Fleur attractive, but that was not the complete basis to his attraction to the French witch. Harry was also attracted to Fleur's intelligence that he freely admitted surpassed his own when he was more than once left a stammering baboon when they talked and she came out with a statement that he had no response or counter argument. Aside from her intelligence Harry was also attracted to Fleur sense of loyalty to her friends that she had made during the short time that she had been at Hogwarts. In a dark place in Harry's heart he feared that one day Fleur would decide that she no longer wanted to bother with him or his friends and would rather be friends with the popular people at Hogwarts.

Finally what drew Harry in was Fleur's sense of humour and how much she loved to laugh when she didn't need to have her ice cool demeanour up to dissuade the less intelligent males. But Harry knew that this was all for naught as Fleur was not only three years older than him but went to a completely different school in a different country. Aside from that, why would she want to date someone not only younger than her but not all that much to look at, so Harry tried his best to push the feelings that were growing in him down and focus on keeping himself as Fleur's friend.

When able to look past his own teenage hormones Harry was able to see that Fleur was incredibly happy with how things had went during the first task and he had owed it at least in part to Sirius and the Black family library and was adamant that he was going to get him the best bottle of Ogden's best fire whiskey that he could afford as a thank you as well as a gift and simply hope that Sirius didn't write to Fleur saying that his Godson was so madly in love with her that he was even willing to buy his poor old dogfather a Christmas present, glossing over the fact that Harry did so every year and Michael didn't. If that happened then it would have to be the choice between solitary confinement or murder and honestly both paths led to Fleur finding out how much Harry cared for her in the wrong way.

There had also been a change in power within the school since the first task. Most of the students that had shunned Michael Potter before the task had now changed their tunes and were openly supporting him as well as the Boy-Who-Lived fan girls, led by Ginny Weasley, who had flocked back to his side to offer support and sympathy for Michael's injuries during the first task. However the Slytherin students didn't change at all and they could be heard at various intervals throughout the day for several weeks commenting on how much faster Michael Potter was able to fly without his Firebolt and how he should hire out a Horntail for all his Quidditch matches in future. Understandably this left the Boy-Who-Flew-Pretty-Well-Without-A-Broom and his sycophants rather angry whilst a lot of the people who disliked Michael Potter found it rather amusing; including Harry who felt that his brother needed to be brought down a few pegs as he would have been bragging by now how easy the task was if he hadn't been hit by the Horntail.

However it was a completely different incident that allowed Harry to regain some dignity after his impromptu meeting with Fleur's breasts and shifted the target for teasing from his friends off of him and onto Cedric. Harry and Fleur had been on their way to the Library to try and riddle out why the clue within the golden egg was be nothing more than a screeching sound that grated on their every nerve. They were just rounding the corner into the corridor that the Library was on when they saw something that brought them up short.

What they saw as Cedric and Aurelia locked together in a passionate kiss that seemed to be endless as they held each other close. For a moment both Harry and Fleur just stopped and stared at their friends who were oblivious to anyone who was outside of their kiss before they regained their wits and in synch turned and smirked at each other before they both muttered a spell at their throats; "Sonorous". After enhancing their voices both Harry and Fleur started to hum "Here comes the bride" as they made their way over to Aurelia and Cedric. In all honesty neither Harry nor Fleur was hugely surprised that Aurelia and Cedric had started dating as they had seen the smouldering looks that they threw each other when the other wasn't looking. They were more surprised that they were snogging out in a corridor rather than in private, but maybe they were unable to control their hormones and just didn't care who saw them.

Cedric and Aurelia sprang apart like their lips had suddenly burnt each other at the sound of the hummed bridal march coming from their friends and inwardly shuddered at the rather predatory gleams that had appeared in both Fleur and Harry's eyes.

"So studying hard were you Cedric?"

This coming from Harry who was delighted at his chance to get even with the merciless teasing he had been getting from Cedric for the last few weeks. Cedric simply blushed a bright red and started to stammer about how he had been but Aurelia wanted to talk to him and one thing led to another, however Cedric's new girlfriend was ready to step in and help her struggling boyfriend out.

"Well at least Cedric is a gentleman 'Arry. 'E as not tried to grope my breasts even once!"

It was now Harry's turn to blush red and he hoped that either the ground would swallow him whole right now or that a rampaging flock of hippogriffs would come down this corridor right now and put him out of his misery, but Fleur Delacour was not one to leave her friends hanging in their time of need so she jumped in to defend Harry.

"What's wrong Aurelia? Are you jealous?"

It was now time for Aurelia to blush at Fleur's implied statement as to what she wanted Cedric to be doing, or doing to her, however she fought back with determination. After watching the Quidditch match of words between the two friends, both Harry and Cedric were begging for them to stop and that they wouldn't tease each other anymore if only they would stop. In the time that they had been "arguing" Fleur and Aurelia had gotten rather specific and personal in regard to the male accompanying the other around the school whether they were dating or not and they had compared and speculated on sizes amongst other things.

It was a few days later that Hogwarts was thrown into yet another state of hysteria due to the announcement that was made concerning the Yule ball that was to be held on the evening of Christmas day. However this hysteria was somewhat one sided as the male students were generally terrified at the prospect of having to ask a girl to the ball as per tradition whilst the female students were finding the whole situation highly amusing as they watched boys stutter their way through requests that they accompany them to the ball. Harry however was largely immune to this though as not being all that well known amongst the other students apart from his friendship with Fleur Delacour there was no-one making a beeline for him to be their date or dropping hints.

Initially Harry had considered asking Luna to the ball but he then remembered the crush that Neville harboured for Luna and was not going to get in the way of those two having a nice time just so that Harry would have a date as if Harry was reading the signs right, Luna was just as interested in Neville as Neville was in her.

While Harry was having his minor date crisis, Fleur was having a very real problem with the announcement of the Yule ball as this seemed to have made most of the male students think that this was just an open invitation for them all to ask her to the Yule ball and that she would accept. This meant that it was not especially surprising when she turned them all down flat and they were either extremely disappointed or angry as to why she wouldn't go with them, but a few icy glares was enough to sort out most of the drooling baboons that had asked her out. Fleur was surprised though several days later when she found out that it wasn't just her that was having problems with people constantly asking for her to be their date, Fleur's fellow champions also had their own fair share of followers or stalkers if you looked at it another way that were determined that they were going to date a Triwizard champion. Fleur thought that at least in some cases it was in extremely poor taste as Cedric was well known to be now dating Aurelia which had come out when she kissed him right in the middle of the Great Hall during dinner one evening. Krum was also finding it hard to be the castle for any length of time these days as his fan club of witches seemed to follow him everywhere when they were not in lessons and behind the cool and calm exterior Fleur could tell that the constant badgering that Viktor was being exposed to was slowly starting to annoy him and he might well break soon.

This issue that was plaguing the other champions didn't seem to affect the fourth Triwizard champion who revelled in all of the extra attention that he was receiving even if it was only from girls that wanted to be seen with a Triwizard champion or with the Boy-Who-Lived as he seemed to be taking great pleasure in turning them down saying that he already had a date to the Yule ball. Harry had been rather sceptical that his brother actually had a date that wasn't one of the fan girls that had been approaching him for several days now as most female students that weren't his sycophants wanted nothing to do with him, including Fleur who Michael Potter had attempted to ask to the Yule ball and failed spectacularly. However harry had been wrong according to Neville as it seemed to be that Michael Potter was escorting Hermione Granger to the Yule ball and this had caused some unrest in the tower of the Lions.

From what Neville had been able to ascertain from the arguments between Michael Potter, Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley; Ron had harboured a crush on Hermione for some time and was waiting until all the other girls had dates before sweeping in and asking her to make her feel wanted. It was not very good or nice logic fro Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had reportedly almost cursed him right into the hospital wing when she heard that he thought that no-one else would even consider asking her to the Yule ball. It was much the same reason for why Ginny Weasley was currently angry with Michael Potter and to some extent Hermione Granger also as in her mind she and Michael Potter were a perfect match and that he was just waiting a while so that he could make it special when he asked her to attend the Yule ball with him and was reportedly also livid when she found out that Michael has asked Hermione and not her. In Ginny Weasley's mind this was betrayal of the worst kind for a friend to start dating the guy that you liked when they knew that you did. The fact that it was just for the Yule ball and no-one had said anything about them dating past the Yule ball didn't seem to occur to the angry red-head.

Eventually when Michael Potter had grown tired of his friends constantly berating him for his choices he had asked why Ginny didn't go with Neville since that way she would still be able to go and would be with someone that they knew would not cause trouble as he would be glad to have a date. This was a good moment for Neville as it allowed him to turn towards this group and state rather plainly that he had asked Luna Lovegood to the Yule ball and she had accepted so there was no way that he could accompany Ginny to the ball. The silence that had followed this announcement was something that Neville would cherish in his memories for a long time as he was able to witness the so called 'Leaders of Gryffindor' be completely lost for words.

It seemed that Ron Weasley took extra offence to Neville having a date to the Yule ball when he didn't have one and this became spite when he asked Neville if the best he could do was 'loony' Lovegood. Neville saw this as an obvious attempt to goad him and simply took it in his stride before replying that Ron could say whatever he wanted about Luna but it didn't change the fact that she had agreed to be his date and at the rate Ron was going he would be flying solo on the night of the Yule ball.

As the days slowly passed more and more students were pairing up whether it be couples who were asking in romantic ways or guys being egged on by their friends to ask a girl to the ball with varying degrees of success. However Fleur was still being asked to the ball more than a dozen times each day and she was close to hexing anyone who came within fifty feet of her and looked like they might try and ask. Harry could see how much it was affecting his friend and he tried to help one day in the library when Fleur was ranting about how many times she had been asked in the last hour let alone day.

"Why can't zey just leave me alone! Why must zey pester me to be zeir dates, iz it not obvious zat I don't want to date any of zem!"

Harry wasn't entirely sure what to say as Fleur was rather angry and he didn't want to risk being burned to a cinder if he said the wrong thing, but while he was musing in his thoughts about what to say and idea popped into his head that he thought he might as well voice.

"Um Fleur, what if we went to the Yule ball together. As friends." Harry added the last part rather quickly as he didn't want Fleur to think that after everything and all the other guys that couldn't take a hint he was taking a pass at her. Fleur looked thoughtful for a few moments before she spoke; "I really do underestimate you at times 'Arry. It is a wonderful idea it will get the drooling masses to give up and that way it solves my date problem for ze evening. 'Owever I will be expecting you to know how to dance formally Monsieur Potter!"

Relieved at not being turned into kindling at his sudden idea Harry simply smiled and replied; "Not to worry Mademoiselle Delacour I have been brought up with all the proper training in pureblood customs and etiquette. I shall not disappoint you and I thank you for accepting my invitation."

Fleur mocked glared at Harry for the snobbish tone of voice he took up when answering her and lightly swatted him with her hand to which he comically grabbed his arm and feinted serious injury.

Harry and Fleur had hoped to keep the fact that they were attending the Yule ball together a secret from everyone apart from their friends as they knew how much the students around them liked to gossip with each other. However this was not to be as one of the most persistent male students, Roger Davies, who had asked Fleur to go with the ball with him at least once each and every day was making another crack at trying to woo Fleur. As ever Davies arrived in flamboyant fashion as he tried to ask in her whilst hiding his question behind compliments.

"Hello there Miss Delacour, might I say how dazzlingly beautiful you look tonight and I wondered if I might humbly ask you to allow me to accompany you to the Yule ball?"

Fleur inwardly sighed and geared herself up for another round of telling him no and him not accepting that answer.

"Zank you for your kind invitation Monsieur Davies, but I 'ave a date to ze ball already, so zank you but no zank you."

Roger Davies seemed to sag slightly at Fleur's words but he carried on nonetheless in trying ti get her to agree to go with him.

"Come now Miss Delacour I'm sure your date would be understanding if you changed your mind, and I'm sure that they could find another date in time, I mean why should you settle for second best when I'm around!"

Fleur was at the end of her tether at hearing Roger Davies' rather arrogant and boastful words and before she could think coherently she was more or less shouting at him.

"Non Monsieur Davies I already 'ave a date to the Yule ball and for your information I asked for 'Arry Potter to accompany me and I would much rather go with 'im zan you!"

Fleur felt good about putting Davies in her place but with her shouting out these details about her going to the Yule ball with Harry in the entrance hall with many other students around she could almost hear people starting to think about who they were going to pass on this piece of gossip to first. Meanwhile Davies had gone a rather nasty shade of purple in discovering that Fleur was not only going with a younger wizard than him but someone who was a relatively unknown entity around the school. Davies stood there for almost a minute more before he turned on his heel and stormed away.

It was one of those occasions that seemed to back up the theory that gossip travels faster than anything else in the known universe as by the time Harry entered the Great hall for dinner it was common knowledge that he was escorting Fleur Delacour to the Yule ball and Fleur had not said as friends. Harry therefore was rather taken aback to see almost the entire male population of the hall glare darkly at him which made a shiver travel down Harry's spine as it made for a rather ominous view to see so many other students being angry with him. For once Harry knew what it was like to be his brother at Hogwarts. Making his way over to where Fleur was sitting the stares and glares followed him every step of the way and only partially died down when he sat down next to Fleur.

"Um Fleur, do you know why everyone is glaring at me?"

Fleur had an apologetic look on her face as she turned to face him and was trying to look him in the eye when she replied but was struggling.

"Um I appear to be at fault 'Arry. I was getting so angry at Davies constantly asking me to the Yule ball that I snapped and shouted at 'im that we were going togezzer and I may have failed to mention that we were only going as friends. This was 'eard by many students."

"Oh" Was the only response that Harry could come up with immediately before he added; "Well that explains why all of those guys are trying to become Basilisks and kill me with their gazes."

It really did seem like every dateless male in the castle, and quite a few that did have dates, wanted to kill Harry all apart from the infamous Weasley twins who tracked Harry down one day between classes and bowed dramatically at him before congratulating him on having such a beautiful woman ask him to the ball rather than the other way round before walking off. It was in truth rather odd but funny and Harry was secretly glad that they hadn't told anyone apart from friends that they were only attending as friends as it was rather comical to see what look of loathing the other students would try out each day.

It definitely had the effect of pissing off his brother as well as Michael Potter took several minutes out of his busy schedule to demand what Harry had done to make Fleur want to go with Harry to the ball when she could have anyone in the castle. This demand was one that Harry had great delight in answering as smugly as possible whilst bending the truth as his only response was that he was simply more attractive than Michael. This was a jab directly aimed at Michael as he had always said that he was the better looking twin and it was for the better as he was the Boy-Who-Lived. Secretly Harry thought that for all his airs of confidence, Michael Potter was rather insecure with how he looked and the fact that Harry might well one day be much more attractive than he was.

As Christmas day drew closer it seemed like the castle was split with half the population bursting with excitement as for what was to come, whilst the other half where bundles of nerves as many of the younger and mainly muggleborn students had been offered dancing lessons which the gratefully accepted. Harry had no need to attend 6these lessons as he was already an accomplished dancer despite his parents not giving him the full pureblood upbringing that covered ballroom dancing as standard. In the end it had been Sirius who had taught Harry how to dance as being the heir to the Black Lordship it was required that he was able to not embarrass himself at events where dancing would be required. When Harry had first been told by Sirius that he would need to learn how to dance he had thought that this was the Marauder's idea of a prank and there would be a hidden camera waiting to take pictures of him when he was dancing, but he was wrong. Sirius was completely serious about Harry learning to dance and after Harry got over his wariness about it being a prank he discovered to his surprise that he quite enjoyed dancing and was soon practicing and learning more dances on his own without having to be prompted by Sirius.

Michael Potter had initially bullied the crap out of Harry for enjoying learning how to dance, but had stopped when James Potter had started teaching Michael how to play Quidditch as James believed that they could always teach Michael how to dance when he was older. However this would never be the case as Michael quickly learnt that all he needed to do was bring up Quidditch whenever dancing lessons were mentioned and he would get out of said lessons and play Quidditch instead. A rather dark and vindictive part of Harry's mind that he usually buried deep was rather enjoying the prospect of watching Michael make a fool out of himself as he had learned from Fleur that the champions would be opening the ball by dancing first in front of everyone and it would be clearly visible if Michael Potter was unable to dance and Harry could. Harry was also certain that Michael would not be learning now even when so many of his year mates would be learning as his overconfident and arrogant nature meant that he would believe that he would be able to wing it for the whole evening.

It was a bright and cold morning that Harry woke up to on Christmas day but was being livened up by the sounds of his dorm mates ripping into the parcels and presents that were at the foot of their beds. Even after years of not receiving much if anything for Christmas and being used to it, it always made Harry happy to see a small pile from friends and Sirius. Wasting no time Harry started to carefully open up his gifts as he could not be entirely sure what some of the packages might be and he didn't want to accidently damage any of them by over-exuberance. The first parcel that harry opened was from Neville and keeping up with tradition between the two boys they hadn't been overly technical with what they bought each other. It looked like great minds thought alike as both Harry and Neville had gotten the other some Zonkos merchandise and a few bars of Honeydukes chocolate.

Harry's next gift was from Luna who had gotten him a belt with a rather peculiar design on it which turned out to be runes to keep creatures such as nargles away which harry found out when he read the enclosed note that had also wished him a Merry Christmas. For Luna's gift from Harry he had teamed up with Neville so that he would get Luna some nice earrings from The Gilded Carafe in Hogsmeade and Neville bought Luna a matching necklace that could be worn both to the Yule ball tonight and in general as they both suited Luna well with the silver metal that housed small diamonds in them. Harry had been able to afford this due to Sirius having sent him more money than normal for Christmas so that he could make this one special with more people being there.

Sirius's gift was next in the pile and turned out to be dress robes of black Acromantula silk that were much the same in design as his normal school robes, but were a much lighter material that would allow for greater movement and were infinitely smarter than his everyday robes. Harry had in the end gone through with his plan of getting Sirius a bottle of Fire Whiskey for Christmas and he was glad that he had as the dress robes that Sirius had gotten for him would have not been cheap bearing in mind what material that they were made out of and he would have felt bad if he had only gotten Sirius something cheap.

The next present was from Cedric who had gotten Harry some more Zonkos products as he and Harry didn't know each other that well yet as they had only truly begun hanging out this year and as such would not know much beyond simple information on Christmas gifts, so Harry had copied his idea and given Cedric some chocolate from Honeydukes that according to Aurelia, Cedric liked.

Many people would have assumed that Harry and Aurelia would have bought each other gifts, but as it so happened on Christmas eve they had both been trying to tell the other that they had completely forgotten what to get the other, but because neither had remembered then it was fine and they could simply wish each other Merry Christmas. Harry's final gift was from Fleur and Harry was somewhat nervous as to what his gift from Fleur could be as he had found a rather beautiful necklace at the same time that he had bought Luna's gift which was again silver, but had a sapphire gemstone as Harry had rather cheesily thought that the gemstone would match her eyes and she seemed to like the colour blue in jewellery. As he found out Fleur's gift was an Auror grade wand holster that had built in functions to be invisible to everyone but the wearer, anti summoning charms and finally would have a trigger that would allow his wand to be shot into his hand in less than a second. As Harry had found out Fleur's father was an Auror captain with the French Ministry of Magic this was not something that he would have found particularly difficult to acquire, but harry was surprised that he was able to give it away to a civilian as a gift, but Harry reckoned that Sebastian Delacour must be senior enough to get away with such a thing.

Feeling happy with his gifts Harry started to get ready for the day ahead that promised to be long but worth the extra effort if it meant that Fleur had a good evening. In earlier years the other boys in Harry's dorm had been curious as to why he received very little at Christmas as the Potter family were very well off and would easily be able to afford a multitude of gifts for both of the Potter twins. Harry though knew why he received very little was due to his parents yet again overlooking him and he sometimes had wondered if he didn't come home during the summer holidays, whether or not they might forget entirely that he existed. However harry wasn't going to dwell on such thoughts as he had friends that cared for him and they would want to spend the day celebrating Christmas with him and that thought alone was enough to banish any thoughts of James and Lily Potter to the back of his mind.

As Harry got into the Great hall for breakfast he was suddenly intercepted by someone crushing him into a hug and when he saw silver hair he realised that his attacker was Fleur thanking him for his gift.

"Zank you 'Arry, the necklace is beautiful!"

Harry simply blushed lightly at the spectacle that they were making in the middle of the Great hall that was doing nothing to dispel the rumours that they were dating and muttered that it was ok before thanking Fleur for the gift that he had received from her.

"Thank you for the wand holster Fleur, I was amazed that your father was able to give you one as I thought that Auror wand holsters were a restricted item?"

"Oui, you are correct, but since papa has worked for the Ministry for over twenty years they allowed it."

Harry also noted that Luna, Neville and Cedric were all close by and had grouped up on the Ravenclaw table as for Cedric his girlfriend was here and for Neville all of his friends and hopefully his girlfriend were all here so he saw no point in sitting at the Gryffindor table. They all took turns in thanking each other for their gifts and Luna kissed both Harry and Neville of their cheeks while hugging them as thanks for the beautiful duo of earring and the necklace that they had gotten for her.

The rest of the day passed relatively quickly with Cedric and Aurelia dropping in and out of the usual gathering of Harry, Luna, Neville and Fleur. Every time that they reappeared Harry couldn't resist remarking that all these 'little' things that they needed to do where taking a rather long time and exactly what manner was Aurelia thanking Cedric in for the gift that he had gotten her for Christmas. All Harry knew about it was that some of it was Jewellery and that Cedric had something extra planned for this evening during the Yule ball, but beyond that he was in the dark and Harry hoped that if he made Cedric blush enough he might let loose a few details.

Very soon Luna and Fleur disappeared off with Aurelia to get ready which confused Harry and Neville as they didn't know why they would need three hours to get ready before they were clued in by Cedric that it was not a man's place to question the length of time that it took them to get ready and that they would see why the extra time was a good thing later on. Several hours later Harry and Neville split up to go to their own house towers so that they could get ready for the ball. Harry started off by showering as it had already been almost twelve hours since his first shower of the day and he wanted to be as fresh as possible for Fleur. After showering Harry pulled on his dress robes and made a mental note to thank Sirius again as not only were the dress robes comfortable they were stylish without being too showy and that would help to make the overall effect look good rather than cocky.

At quarter to eight Harry made his way down to the entrance hall where he found Neville and Cedric already nervously awaiting the arrival of their dates for the evening. Harry noted that Neville was far more nervous than both him and Cedric were and Harry could understand why as Cedric and Aurelia were already dating and Harry and Fleur were only going as friends despite what most of the school thought. Neville was really nervous as he had been crushing on Luna for a little while now and he was terrified that he was going to do or say something that would blow any chance of them dating in the future.

The three boy's nervous silence was broken when they heard the front doors opening and they saw the Beauxbatons contingent of students being led in by Fleur, Aurelia and Luna and this stopped them dead in their tracks. Harry heard two sharp intakes of breath that coincided perfectly with his own as they looked upon the visions of beauty that were their dates for the Yule ball.

At the front was Fleur as she was the champion for Beauxbatons and she was glowing with radiance and Harry was wondering if it was even possible for her to look more beautiful, but apparently she was bending the laws of the universe and Fleur was practically making everyone else look ugly in comparison. Fleur was in a silver dress that hugged her figure closely and displayed a small amount of cleavage, but not in a way that could be seen as overly provocative or slutty. Harry was especially happy to see that the necklace that he had bought for her was around her neck and glowing brightly in the torch light of the hall. Aurelia was following close behind Fleur and Harry had to reach over and close Cedric's jaw as he seemed unable to close it himself when looking upon his girlfriend in a red dress that was the exact same colour as the rose that Cedric had pulled out of nowhere to present to her. Aurelia's dress was also curve hugging but was slightly more provocative than Fleur's dress as it seemed that Aurelia wanted to impress Cedric as much as she wanted to wear such a beautiful dress for the Yule ball. Last off in the group leading the Beauxbatons students was a rather nervous looking Luna wearing a dress of soft lilac colouring that Harry was surprised to see on her due to knowing about Luna's rather eccentric tastes in clothing colours and he realised that this dress had Fleur and Aurelia's help written all over it. Neville seemed to be also incapable of speech and was only prompted to say something when Harry nudged him in the ribs as the three girls came to a stop in front of them.

"You..you look beautiful Luna." Neville was able to stammer out.

Luna blushed and murmured her thanks and took Neville's arm so that they could enter the Great hall together. Meanwhile Cedric was also having difficulties forming the words that were bouncing around in his head into actual speech before he regained higher brain function and offered Aurelia the rose and kissed her hand.

"Miss Beaulieu might I say that you look positively radiant tonight and I thank you for lowering yourself to accompany me to the ball."

Aurelia took the rose with a smile and a gleam in her eyes that she was not disappointed with how Cedric was treating the event but she still took his arm and kissed him on the cheek, whispering something that only Cedric could hear that made him turn slightly pink in colour.

Finally it was Harry's turn to greet his date and he was glad that he hadn't lost higher brain function like his friends and surmised that it was most likely because he knew that Fleur held no romantic feelings towards him so no relationships would be forged this night. Despite this though harry had already promised himself on pain of death that he was going to be the perfect gentleman tonight and make this night wonderful for Fleur.

"Good evening Miss Delacour, you look most beautiful tonight and I hope I can live up to your expectations."

With these words Harry repeated Cedric's actions of kissing Fleur's hand and she blushed slightly and entwined her arm in his to prepare for the their entrance to the Great hall. While Harry and Cedric had been complimenting their dates Viktor Krum had arrived with one of Cedric's friends from seventh year on his arm as his date. From what Harry had heard about this girl she had very little interest in Quidditch and he wondered whether Viktor might have asked her as she would be unlikely to grill him about his career like many other witches might. Krum's date was wearing a light blue dress that seemed to flow around her as she moved and matched with Krum's red robes of Durmstrang better than you might have thought. Soon Professor McGonagall turned up to arrange the order in which the champions would enter with Fleur and Harry at the front as Fleur was currently in the lead, Viktor Krum would be next as he was currently in second place and Cedric in third would be behind Krum. The fourth champion was yet to arrive and it was getting closer and closer to the time that the feast before the ball was supposed to start and tradition stated that it could not be started until all of the champions with their dates were present.

It was almost five minutes later that Michael Potter and his date Hermione Granger showed up looking extremely relaxed and seemingly not caring that they were not only late, but also holding everyone up. Harry thought that his brother had most likely done it deliberately for attention as he liked making people wait for him. As Michael Potter got into position behind Cedric Harry caught his brother glaring at him out of the corner of his eye for having Fleur as his date when she had turned down every other wizard in the castle.

Professor McGonagall seemed slightly annoyed that two of her own lions were the ones that had caused the delay, but Harry knew that she favoured Michael and Hermione and would only give them the equivalent of a slap on the wrist for being rudely late. The entire congregation of the Great hall applauded when the champions made their way into the hall in procession and Harry was both amused and slightly worried in equal measure to see that there was still a lot of guys giving him death stares for daring to have Fleur Delacour as a date. Harry was able to scope out Ron and Ginny Weasley in the crowd, both had dates that looked like they would rather be with anyone else than with the two of them who were lusting after the fourth champion and his date respectively. The applause ended as the champions took their seats at the table at the front of the hall and Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"Let the feast begin." He simply stated before sitting back done and picking up a menu and clearly enunciating 'Pork chops'.

This allowed everyone to get the idea about what to do and soon people were ordering a whole host of dishes that seemed to have been prepared by the Hogwarts house elves for such an occasion. Harry decided to let Fleur choose both of their dishes as she had noted Madam Maxime ordering a speciality French dish that she hadn't expected for the house elves here to make and suggested that Harry try some French cuisine. What Harry ended up with was Bouillabaisse; a fish stew that Fleur assured him would fill him up, but be light enough that he could still dance afterwards.

Down the table Harry could see Cedric and Aurelia practically feeding each other parts of their meals and he made a mental note to hum the wedding march while they were dancing, if they came close by the couple. Neville and Luna seemed to have got over their initial nervousness and were chatting away quite happily while studiously ignoring Michael Potter and Hermione Granger who seemed to want to talk to everyone else about only themselves, but were being ignored by the majority of the table. From what could be seen of Viktor he was locked in a serious conversation with his date who Harry had finally learnt to be one Sophie Ridgewell of Hufflepuff house. What they were talking about was anyone's guess, but both seemed to be actively taking part in the conversation rather than one of them talking at the other. It made Harry wonder if there was going to be another couple formed this night at Hogwarts.

Soon enough the plates were cleared and Professor Dumbledore was once again rising to his feet to address the hall once more; "Now that we are all fed and watered I ask that the Triwizard champions come down and open the ball properly."

The champions and their dates rose to their feet as one and made their way down to the dance floor before arranging themselves in various dancing poses as the orchestra began its first piece. At once Harry started to lead the dance as it was one that he had practised many times before that he could probably do it blindfolded in his sleep and as such was moving exactly in time with the music. Fleur was happily surprised with how well Harry could dance. When he had said that he could dance she assumed that this was platitudes before he quickly took a crash course in how to dance, but it was clear to her and everyone else watching the pair that Harry was an exceptionally talented dancer who was truly enjoying what was happening. Across from the pair that were Harry and Fleur was Cedric and Aurelia who were also dancing well due to Cedric's pureblood upbringing that had included dancing lessons, but as they revolved and moved to the music Cedric had no qualms in admitting that harry was a much better dancer than he could ever be.

In contrast to Cedric and Harry was Viktor who was rather duck footed when not in the air and as such he wasn't as graceful as the other two, but his sheer effort in wanting to make this evening good for his date and stubbornness to not take the easy path meant that he was at least seeming half way composed. Lastly there was Michael Potter who evidently had not taken up the offer to students of dancing lessons and had never danced before in his life as his movements were ungainly and clunky. Harry was also pretty sure that he could hear Granger wincing and hissing in pain whenever his brother stood on one of her toes which seemed to be happening every ten seconds or so.

After watching the champions dance for several minutes Professor Dumbledore and Madam Maxime took to the dance floor, closely followed by Luna and Neville who looked nervous but were continuing on nonetheless. As it happened Neville and Luna weren't all that ungraceful as they had both been to the lessons for dancing and it showed it compassion to their classmates that had simply scoffed and said that lesson were a waste of time. After the first song Harry and Fleur switched partners with Cedric and Aurelia and Aurelia was then able to agree with certainty that Harry was indeed a better dancer than Cedric which allowed Aurelia to interrogate him about what Cedric had planned for the evening as the dancing was almost unconscious actions for Harry, but he remained quiet on what Cedric was planning. It was several songs later that they switched back partners and Fleur it seemed was unable to wheedle any secrets out of Cedric either about what he was planning which was an amazing feat in itself.

When the song ended the quartet left the dance floor and sat at one of the tables off to the side of the hall so that Harry and Cedric could get drinks for them all. Making their way over to the drinks table they were complimented by other couples about how well they could dance, even if some of the males complimenting them needed to be prompted to say such things. Harry and Cedric shared a sly glance at each other that wordlessly conveyed to each other the exact same message; no guy wanted to admit that there was someone else who could dance better than them as it might make their date more interested in that person than them. Having found four bottles of butterbeer. Harry and Cedric made their way back over to where they had left their dates and were rather un-amused to find two people had been bothering them in their absence. One of the people was Cedric's ex Cho Chang who seemed to be insulting Aurelia as much as possible in her rant against her.

"Listen up you man stealing bitch! Cedric is mine and only mine, so you need to take your claws out of him if you know what is good for you!"

Harry saw that Cedric was livid at how Cho was treating Aurelia, despite the fact that he had broken up with Cho over a month before he had started dating Aurelia, but he stopped him from intervening as it looked like Aurelia had everything in hand.

"I don't 'ave to do anything you say leetle girl. Cedric has done nothing wrong and 'as it crossed your mind zat he broke up with you because 'e was tired of dating a possessive leetle girl instead of a woman that actually cares for 'im?"

Cho seemed to be lost for words after Aurelia didn't do what many other girls had done before and cower before her temper before swearing to stay away from Cedric, but she didn't get a chance to respond as Cedric took that moment to place his and Aurelia's drink down on the table before bending at the waist so that he could kiss Aurelia. This action sent a clear message to Cho and with a angry screech she stormed off into the crowd of dancing students.

While this had been going on there had been another drama unfolding a few feet away as Fleur had been accosted mere minutes after Harry and Cedric had left to get drinks by the ever refusing to take no for an answer Roger Davies. He sat down next to her and fixed her with a half knowing, half angry gaze before speaking.

"I know the truth Fleur! I know that you only rejected me because you enjoying toying with men's emotions."

"You are very much mistaken Monsieur Davies." Fleur replied with an icy tone that couldn't convey al of the anger that she felt at his words.

"Come on what do you take me for? It's obvious that you only agreed to be Potter's date so that you could get his hopes up and then crush them as you move on to someone else!"

Fleur was unspeakably angry with the words that were coming out of Davies' mouth and a small part of her did wonder if this was all just jealousy talking rather than coherent thought, but that was a small minority in her mind that was shouting at her to do something to get him to shut up and possibly to make him even more jealous than he already was of Harry. Standing up from her seat she saw Harry and Cedric returning with drinks and after Cedric had peeled off to deal with the Cho Chang situation and Harry had put the drinks down on the table she glided over to him. Then in front of many watching students who had been watching Roger Davies make an ass out of himself she pulled Harry into a long kiss.

At once the hall seemed to be completely devoid of sound except the orchestra as the massed students watched Fleur Delacour snog the mind out of Harry Potter. No-one made a sound as Fleur broke the kiss and grabbed their drinks before pulling Harry out of the hall in the direction of the gardens. Cedric noted that there was almost absolute silence for roughly thirty seconds while everyone processed what had just happened in front of them before people started to talk about what they had witnessed. Seeing that Roger Davies still looked angry and jealous, Cedric made his way over to put him in his place; "Roger we may have been friends once but if you insinuate any of what you said to Fleur ever again I am going to curse the mouth off of your face. Grow the fuck up and stop being a jealous prick throwing his toys out the pram when he doesn't get his way!"

With these final words Cedric went back to Aurelia to drink and relax before they took to the dance floor again.

Outside Fleur was leading a rather dazed Harry along by the hand to a secluded spot in the garden that had been erected for the Yule ball. Stopping in a secluded area with a loveseat she sat down and pulled Harry down next to her.

"I'm sorry I did zat 'Arry, but Roger would not leave me alone and I 'ad to do something."

Fleur was hoping that Harry wouldn't be too annoyed at her for her practically assaulting him in the middle of the Great hall, but Harry wasn't entirely listening and still had a rather goofy expression on his face.

"Are you still with me 'Arry?"

This broke Harry out of his happy stupor and he shook himself before replying; "It's ok Fleur, as you said you had to do something, but you might want to warn me next time or kiss less well so that you don't reduce my brain to mush!"

Fleur blushed lightly at Harry's words but she seemed to have a thought after he had finished assuring her that it was fine.

"'Arry was zat your first kiss?"

Now it was time for Harry to blush, but he went much redder than Fleur had and when he answered her it was little more than a whisper; "Yes it was Fleur."

"Zen I am sorry for stealing such a moment away from you, I 'ope you can forgive me."

"It really is fine Fleur, and I doubt any first kiss could be better than that one."

"Ah you are a shameless charmer 'Arry."

"Guilty as charged."

Fleur laughed and leant up against Harry's shoulder before she sighed.

"What's wrong Fleur?" Harry asked, worried that he had done something wrong.

"Nothing much 'Arry, it's just zat I wanted to dance more after we 'ad our drinks, but I don't zink we would get a minutes peace if we went back into the 'all."

Harry felt bad that he had indirectly caused this to happen, but he then had an idea and he got to his feet before extending his hand to Fleur. She took it with a quizzical expression on her face and Harry pulled her lightly to her feet.

"We don't need to return to the hall to continue dancing, we can hear the music well enough out here."

With that Harry took Fleur into a waltz pose before he started to dance along with the music emanating from the Great hall. Fleur smiled before she moulded into a dancing stance to mirror Harry's as they danced in the privacy of their corner of the garden. Neither of them noticed a rather large beetle fly out of the hedgerow near them before it settle down on the fountain where Hagrid and Madam Maxime were talking.

 **A.N/ Please review this story if you can, so far the majority of my reviews are all from one user and while they are all positive which is nice it would be good to get feedback from the rest of you readers every now and again.**


	8. Chapter 8: Bugged Conversations

**A.N/ I'm back again and yet again I said I would update faster and that hasn't happened. To be fair I thought I would be writing during my evenings more but then Rockstar decided to put the heists up at double cash and rp so I have been flooded with invites to play them from friends and random players. Then to cap it off while playing Destiny the Iron Banner is active this week so again its eating up all of my time. Anyway onto the chapter itself, in this chapter there is more drama than you can shake a stick at.**

Chapter 8: Bugged Conversations

It was several hours later that Harry and Fleur called it a night and he escorted her back to the Beauxbatons carriage in the grounds. Fleur kissed Harry on the cheek and thanked him for a wonderful evening that he had provided her with despite meddling by others. As Fleur went inside she inwardly sighed that Harry wasn't the same age as her or even one year younger. Had he been so then she would have most likely already been dating him as he was the politest, most gentlemanly boy that was fast becoming a man in her eyes and she cursed the fact that he was only fourteen and it could not be so.

Harry was happy that he had succeed in giving Fleur a good night like he had promised himself and he was grinning openly as he made his way through the front doors and into the entrance hall. However he found his way blocked by a mass of students who were all watching something in the centre of the hall that he found out to be Ron Weasley getting shouted at by Hermione Granger.

"Next time there is a ball why don't you pluck up the courage to ask me before someone else does and not as a last resort instead of trying to ruin other people's nights for them Ronald!"

With that she marched off leaving the amassed students to laugh at Weasley's gobsmacked expression before they all headed off. Some of the students noticed Harry and it looked like they were about to start interrogating him about the kiss he had shared with Fleur in the middle of the Great hall, but much to Harry's relief Cedric got to him first.

"Haven't seen you in a while Harry, is Fleur ok?"

"Fleur's fine Cedric, she just didn't want to come back into a room full of teenagers that would want to interrogate us both about what happened. So instead we just stayed outside and danced there, why what have people been saying?"

Cedric looked like he was trying to hold his laughter in and be serious, but it was a battle he was quickly losing and Harry realised why when Cedric clued him in on what the rumour mill of Hogwarts reckoned he and Fleur had been up to.

"Well there is one group who are convinced that Fleur was going to bind you to her which involved tying you to a post and dancing around naked whilst chanting. Another group thought that you were going to have sex like bunnies in heat as soon as you had gotten away from everyone and that you must possess incredible stamina to keep up with a Veela. Oh yeah and the final rumour is that you are a dark lord rising and that Fleur is just the start of the harem that you will build."

It took exactly five seconds after Cedric had finished speaking for both Cedric and Harry to burst out laughing at the ludicrous and farfetched ideas that people had come up with as to what Harry and Fleur had been doing since they left the hall. They laughed for a good few minutes before Cedric was able to rein in his laughter enough to pass on a message for Fleur.

"Oh yeah before I forget could you pass on a message to Fleur when you next see her dark lord Potter?"

Harry rolled his eyes at Cedric's grinning face and motioned a signal that meant sure.

"Ok well with the egg it would be to her advantage to open it underwater and the Prefect's bathroom password is 'Pine Fresh' if she needs somewhere to go. Before you ask you two told me straight up what the first task would be so there's no sense in being cryptic in helping you now."

"Thanks for that Cedric, I'll tell Fleur as soon as I can, but what I really want to know is how you found out about opening the egg underwater? Did the delightful Miss Beaulieu have a hand in it?"

Cedric went slightly pink at the mention of Aurelia and simply answered; "A gentleman never tells." Before walking off; leaving Harry to draw his own conclusions.

The next person to find Harry was not one that he would have chosen to speak to tonight as it was Michael Potter and he looked thoroughly pissed off.

"How did you do it? What made her want to come with you? Why does she want to date you and not me?"

Harry knew that he would have to be careful with how he answered his brother as he wanted to balance his answer between the truths that his brother believed in and not saying anything that Fleur wouldn't approve of him insinuating.

"Well Michael all it takes is the ability to be a gentleman and treat a woman with respect , which I will admit might well be impossible for you to achieve, but you always have hope don't you. I can't say any more than that as we'd be delving into territory that is best left unmentioned."

Harry knew he was most likely rubbing salt into the wound that was Michael's wounded ego after his abysmal dancing earlier, but he felt that his brother needed this humility check all too much.

However before more insults could be thrown they were interrupted by a rather irritated looking Professor McGonagall who had just been dealing with the aftershocks of the Weasley/Granger shouting match.

"Come along you two, time for you to return to your dormitories, the Yule ball had concluded so no loitering now!" This was said in such a manner that neither Potter sibling would even think of arguing as it would only lead to potential loss of points or detentions if they pushed the Professor too far.

With one final look of loathing Michael Potter set off up the stairs towards Gryffindor tower and the hostile atmosphere that awaited him in the form of the two youngest Weasley children. Harry also set off towards the Ravenclaw tower as it was a fair climb and he knew that fate would love to kick him in the ass after the lovely evening he had had and make it that Snape was coincidently patrolling the same corridor that Harry would be on after curfew.

As Harry made his way up he passed other students that were heading back to both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms and he heard furious whispering whenever he passed a new group and he could practically feel the eyes of the other students burning holes in his back.

Entering the Ravenclaw common room Harry was surprised to find that a lot of the house was still up despite the fact that it was extremely late and people would be tired after the ball. However it soon became clear why the common room was so full when Roger Davies stepped forward as Harry was trying to cross the room and go up to his dormitory and blocked Harry's path.

"So then Potter!" Davies began in a rather cold tone that was slightly unnerving to Harry.

"You know why we're here! We want you to stop trying to date the French champion or else!" This was said with a sort of finality that carried through the implied threat quite well, but after years of having grown up with Michael Potter's bullying, Harry wasn't going to back down or be bullied by some of his jealous housemates.

"And what if I don't Davies? What horrors will happen to me if I ignore you?"

Roger looked rather taken aback by Harry not only not cowering in fear and agreeing to whatever he said, but to practically throw the gauntlet at his feet by questioning him. However Roger was not one to quit when he believed that Fleur Delacour should be dating him rather than Harry Potter.

"Needless to say Potter it will be unpleasant and you might never be able to be intimate with a woman after we're done with you, nit that any woman would willing choose you anyway!"

Harry knew that Roger was trying to goad him into a fight and he wouldn't let him do so, so the only thing to do was show no fear and try and intimidate him back. Harry did this by laughing loudly at what Roger had said before leaving his parting comment.

"Really Davies is that the best threat you can come up with! Now ask yourself if you really think it's wise to commit bodily harm on the friend of the woman that you would like to date if I'm correct in my assumptions. Not only would she come after you and do nasty things with fire but who says that I am defenceless! You seem to have failed to remember that not only have I been helping a Triwizard champion train and prepare, but I also have access to the Black family library and I guarantee I have picked up the old spell or two that very few people know but are extremely unpleasant!"

With these final words Harry pushed past Roger and made his way up to his dormitory leaving a stunned silence behind him, as it seemed no-one in there thought that he would stand up for himself rather than backing down.

Elsewhere in the castle an old man was chuckling to himself about how ridiculous Michael Potter had looked trying to dance this evening. Albus Dumbledore was very happy to say that his weapon was still arrogant and believed that he could use his fame to get through any situation. It would make it all the easier to play into his ego and promise that he would be the one to defeat the Dark lord Voldemort when he rose again, before Dumbledore would step in to claim the glory. This was all assuming that Michael Potter lived that long, but no matter his twin Harry could always be trained as a replacement and the boy would probably do it unquestioningly as he would finally be the loved twin rather than his brother.

The next morning when harry came down to breakfast his progress was tracked by almost the entire hall as he made his way over to where Neville and Luna were already seated and the staring only slighted lessened in intensity when he finally sat down.

"So Dark lord Potter where is your Dark Lady? Is she still sleeping from last night?" Neville quipped at Harry with the most forced serious expression that Harry had ever seen and was certain was holding back a proverbial thunderstorm of laughter.

"So you also believe the Dark lord theory Neville, I'm wounded that you don't know me better!" harry shot back with a mock hurt expression on his face but he was curious about a few things so he then asked; "So I heard a little about what happened after Fleur and I left last night from Cedric but I sense there is a lot more."

Neville simply raised his eyebrows at first in response and Harry could tell from knowing his friend's expressions that there was quite a tale to be told.

"Yeah you could say that. First off Davies stormed off from where you two left him standing after your kiss with quite a lot of people laughing at him."

 _"That explains why he was waiting for me in the tower with his threats."_ Went through Harry's mind as he listened to Neville speak, but he quickly banished the thought and refocused his attention on his friend.

"That was when the rumours started to circulate about what you were doing to or with each other. Cedric told you some of the nicer or more humorous ones but there were some that were rather vicious. Some people were saying that you had used the Imperius curse on Fleur and were planning on raping her and claiming her as your slave or concubine." Neville looked disgusted at what his fellow students could possibly think was happening instead of Harry and Fleur just being friends and Fleur using an opportunity to get Roger Davies to leave her alone. "There was also mutterings from a rather large contingent of girls who thought that Fleur had simply brainwashed you with her Allure and was going to use you to win the tournament at any cost before casting you aside!"

Harry saw that Neville was ashamed that his fellow classmates and house mates could say or think such things but he was quick to cheer him up; "It's fine Neville really. If all these idiots can believe is that the truth is this farfetched when in reality it is quite dull then they need their brains checked, so I don't really care what they think."

Harry statement almost seemed to have activated a cue due to the fact that immediately after he had finished speaking Fleur and Aurelia came through the door into the Great Hall and once again all eyes turned to her and the whispering started up again in a frenzy that hadn't quite been seen before.

Fleur and Aurelia quickly made their way over to where Harry and the others were sitting with almost the eyes of the entire hall following them every step of the way.

"What are zey staring about 'Arry?" Fleur asked as she sat down next to him.

Harry was reluctant to look Fleur in the eyes and she picked up on this and turned him to look at her. Seeing that there was no way out of this or prolonging the time before he told her Harry just steeled himself and began to explain.

"They're staring Fleur because there are a number of rumours flying around about us after what happened last night. Some of them are harmless and truth be told rather humorous, but some of them are rather nasty. Most people think that we are dating but others have pushed it further to say that one of us had ensnared the other through potions or dark magic whilst some are saying that you are just using me so that you can win the tournament." Harry finished speaking with his gaze down towards the ground. He couldn't bear to see the look on Fleur's face after what he had just told her and he was certain that she would be horrified and want to cut all ties with him.

"And what do you believe 'Arry?"

Harry looked up sharply at Fleur's words, this was not what he had been expecting from her, but he answered her.

"I believe that my friend is being persecuted and vilified by the jealous and by the bigots of this country and she deserves none of it. I also believe that my friend Fleur Delacour is not using me to win the Triwizard tournament, but that she is genuinely my friend."

Harry's vision was then suddenly obscured by a mass of silvery hair as Fleur pulled him into a hug that set the hall off in whispers again.

"Zank you 'Arry. Zank you for saying zat."

Looking around Harry could see that almost all of the guys in the hall were staring at him with their death glares on Basilisk/ Voldemort level and tried to get Fleur to pull back.

"Um Fleur not that I mind you hugging me, but if you don't stop people will think we're dating and I may become an endangered species in the castle."

At these words Fleur smirked mischievously before replying; "Well zen 'Arry I shall 'ave to simply keep quiet on ze matter and let zem draw their own conclusions !"

Harry grimaced briefly before he responded; "Then congratulations Fleur Delacour, you have just signed my death warrant. However before I am blasted into the afterlife I can pass of the message from Cedric that to find out the clue from the egg you need to open it underwater. Oh and he had some help with this from a certain girlfriend of his!" Harry finished with a certain pointed look at Aurelia who was now blushing lightly.

Fleur looked like her birthday and next Christmas had just come early as she smirked at her friend; "Oh do tell us Aurelia. What were you and Cedric doing zat allowed you to find out zis clue?"

Fortunately for Aurelia she was saved by a nearby clock chiming and the hurried excuse that she was meeting Cedric so that they could study together to which Fleur called after her; "You can't run from me forever Aurelia! I will get an answer out of you!"

Most the rest of the day was spent relaxing in Fleur's private room in the Beauxbatons carriage which Harry had been slightly nervous about entering as he was unsure if Madam Maxime might disprove of his presence, but he was pleasantly surprised when she welcomed him as they passed by her office.

Utilising her time to the maximum, Fleur immediately dug out her egg from where she had been keeping it and after running some water in her bath that was in the adjoining room to her bedroom that made up the champions suite she lowered the egg into the water until only the very top of the egg was not submerged.

Instead of the horrible screeching sounds that had been emitted from the egg while it was exposed to air, as soon as it was in the water the sound changed to singing that was hauntingly beautiful in Harry's opinion. It took a few repetitions to get the entire song written down on some hastily conjured parchment by Fleur and after reading all the words Harry changed his mind that the song was not beautiful, but instead rather ominous.

The song that they had recorded went as such;

'Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground

And while you're searching ponder this

We've taken what you'll surely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

To discover what we took

But past an hour- the prospects black

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'

Fleur was looking rather nervous and scared after hearing the clue from the egg and Harry was worried about what could shake her so badly for her to scared like this after she had faced a dragon.

"Fleur, what's wrong?"

"The singing 'Arry, it was by Merpeople. Zat means that the second task is in the lake and in February it will be icily cold which will have a serious effect on my powers."

Harry was confused by this so he asked her to explain what she meant.

"What I mean 'Arry is zat while in water and especially water I will not be very strong magically as Veela are creatures of fire and we don't like cold water at all. It also means that whatever I use to allow me to breath under water will 'ave to last and I 'ope to not face anything down there as I would not be able to do serious magic much if at all."

Now Harry understood what Fleur meant, she knew that this next task would leave her much weaker magically than normal and this worried her as she didn't know what might reside in the Black lake apart from the Merpeople and the Giant squid.

"It'll be ok Fleur, we'll figure something out just like last time I'm serious."

Despite the rather large task looming ahead of her Fleur could resist joking; "Non you're 'Arry. Sirius is your Godfather."

Harry responded by groaning although Fleur could see the grin on his face as he muttered; "Not you too!" To which Fleur simply laughed.

It was several days later at breakfast that Harry and Fleur's world were once again thrown into disarray with arrival of the Daily Prophet. Harry almost chocked on his pumpkin juiced as he read the first headline and the article underneath it.

 ** _'_** ** _French Champion using brother of the Boy-Who-Lived!'_**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _Greetings my rabid readers I bring news once again from Hogwarts where the legendary Triwizard tournament is currently being hosted. I regret to inform you that I am not bringing you the news that Michael Potter is not being bullied anymore by his fellow students and that his brother had reconciled with him. Instead I carry that burden that the French Champion, Fleur Delacour, who is part Veela has been using Harry Potter for her own ends. As I was able to find out Miss Delacour kissed Mr Potter during the Yule ball several days ago before dragging him outside where she cruelly crushed his heart when he tried to kiss her again she said; "Who would want to date someone like you! Did you really think I cared about you! How pathetic. Did you have a crush on me Harry? Did you envision asking me out at some point this year and that I would accept and become your girlfriend. Did you even believe that I loved you?" Here the young Mr Potter could no longer hold in his emotions and he burst into tears at his heart being broken so cruelly by Miss Delacour, to which she only responded with taunts. "Oh is the baby Potter going to cry now. Did you really think I loved you? How sad that you could believe that I actually felt something for you! You mean nothing to me. You are but a means to an end!"_

 _My heart went out to the young Mr Potter as he could take no more and ran away from Miss Delacour as she laughed at him, but sources tell me that the two are still seen together and I fear that Mr Potter has been completely enthralled by Miss Delacour's allure to the point that he is under an imperious curse like trance that he is unable to break out of. This reporter sincerely hopes that we can free this promising young man from the prison in his mind that he must be trapped in and I ask that his fellow students treat him kindly as he has not been in control of his actions and will surely want to make amends when he is free of Miss Delacour's control._

Harry was unspeakably angry after reading the news article that had made him out to be a victim of mind control and that Fleur was practically as bad as Voldemort was. Even now Harry could see other people looking up from the newspapers and were looking at him with sorrow and understanding rather than the hate filled glares that many students had been directing at him the past few days. Instead these hate filled glares were now being aimed directly at Fleur who had also just finished reading the article and Harry was sure that he could see tears trying to fall from her eyes, but she was trying to hold in her emotions as much as possible and not embarrass herself in front of the entire hall.

Soon Fleur got up and quickly left the Great hall with the venomous looks following her path out of the Great hall. Harry tried to get up to follow her but Cedric placed a hand on his shoulder and told him that he and Aurelia would find Fleur and help her as Harry would soon have classes. Harry tried to protest at first but Cedric made him see that it would only enforce people's view that he was Fleur's thrall if he pursued her out of the hall. Harry focused back on the newspaper to avoid all of the students still staring and talking about him in hushed tones. Harry then saw a second article by the venomous reporter Rita Skeeter that was not as bad as the previous one but still rated quite highly in Harry's mind as it was about the Hogwarts groundskeeper and Care of Magical creatures Professor Hagrid. The article headline read;

 ** _Dumbledore's Giant Mistake_**

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _Hello again my faithful readers I bring you another shocking story from Hogwarts. After having watched the young Mr Potter get his heart broken by the cruelty of the French Champion, I happened upon the Beauxbatons headmistress, Madam Maxime, and the Hogwarts Care of Magical creatures Professor, Rubeus Hagrid, talking next to the fountain in the middle of the garden that had been erected for the duration of the Yule ball. Professor Hagrid wasn't exactly keeping his voice down so while I was trying to find a way out of the garden without disturbing the pair I quite clearly heard him say that his mother was a giant by the name of Fridwulfa and he was excited about meeting another half giant, to which he meant Madam Maxime. Like anyone would Madam Maxime slapped Professor Hagrid across the face before storming off. This information proves that headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, is making increasingly eccentric and quite possibly dangerous decision when he hires teachers to teach at the prestigious school of magic. From what I have heard from students from various years who have taken professor Hagrid's class he delights in terrifying them with the most dangerous and bloodthirsty creatures he can find, and professor Hagrid is completely indifferent about how safe his classes are. He even went as far as to shrug dismissively when I asked him if he cared if students got hurt during his lessons. This reporter thinks that Dumbledore had finally gone too far and that he needs to be brought back to heel when it concerns that safety of the children of Wizarding Britain._

Harry was close to erupting in anger when he read this article about Hagrid, while having never taken Care of Magical Creatures as he had taken runes instead, Harry knew that Hagrid would never intentionally harm a student. And while some may mock Hagrid for having been expelled from Hogwarts and being simple man in terms of education and how he spoke, he had a big heart and enough compassion to hold up the school.

However Harry was unable to pass on his sentiments to Hagrid that Rita Skeeter was a demented hag who didn't know what she was on about as the bell had rung and he had to get to charms. However Harry was unable to escape the rest of the school or his classmates and they all seemed to be shooting him furtive looks of concern and pity at various intervals. What Harry found even more curious was several girls from Hufflepuff approaching him, Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones, and offering their support to Harry as they could understand that he was hurting right now and if he needed someone to talk to then they would be there for him. Harry found this odd that they were only talking to him after they t6hought that he had had his heart broken by Fleur and he wondered if there was something more to all of this by the light tinges they both sported when they spoke to him.

Throughout the day the whispering and the occasional student coming up to console Harry continued apart from in Potions where Inferi could be eating the class alive and Professor Snape still wouldn't let them talk amongst each other or leave their seats. Coming into the Great hall for lunch Harry tried to find Fleur first and then Cedric and Aurelia, but was unable to locate any of them, so slightly dejected Harry opted to have his lunch in silence and try and ignore the stares of other students around him like he was an exhibit in some zoo or freak show.

It was dinner when Harry finally saw Fleur again, but it was a brief meeting outside the Great hall as they were surrounded on all sides and Aurelia and Cedric were forced to erect shield charms in order to get Fleur out of the hall in one piece as various curses and hexes flew at Fleur when she was spotted by the students of Hogwarts. Harry tried to get people to stop shooting spells by shouting that the article was nothing but lies, but due to how dependant the students were on the gossip and rumours brought forth by the Daily prophet rather than actual news, they all thought that Harry was just deep within the control of the allure and was unable to control his actions.

By the time Harry had eaten dinner he was sick of how everyone around him was either looking at him with pity or muttering dark things about Fleur and he got up and started to hurry out of the hall to get away from it all, but he intercepted in the hall outside by his head of house, Professor Flitwick.

"Mr Potter, could I have a word with you in my office please." Came the request from the diminutive Professor. Harry had always liked professor Flitwick as the man had no biases and treated everyone fairly not to mention the fact that he had always treated Michael Potter the same as Harry, showing that he did not think that being the Boy-Who-Lived merited special treatment.

"Of course Professor."

Following the Professor up to his office was a quiet affair as Harry suspected what the conversation might entail and Flitwick would know that it would be a conversation best kept away from eavesdroppers and the rumour mongers of the school. Upon arriving at his office Professor Flitwick unlocked the door with a flick of his wand before gesturing for Harry to enter before stepping inside and closing the door firmly. Before taking his seat at the desk professor Flitwick cast several spells and what harry thought might be a ward at the door and he was about to ask what his head of house was doing when professor Flitwick answered him anyway, seemingly knowing exactly what was o Harry's mind.

"I am putting up anti-eavesdropping spells as well as a privacy ward, Mr Potter. I thought it would be best that this conversation was kept between us for the time being, unless you wish to inform anyone else. Now won't you sit down Harry and we can discuss your problem."

Harry sat down in the chair facing Professor Flitwick desk and he waited for the Professor to start speaking as he felt that it wouldn't do to start mindlessly blabbering at his head of house before he had gotten the full picture on what they would be talking about. Seeing his student's silence Flitwick started to speak.

"Now you know that the entire school has seen that article in the Daily prophet about you and the French champion Miss Delacour and I was hoping that I could get your side of the story before I do something that I might regret in the future."

Harry contemplated his Professor's words so that he could formulate a clear response before he started to speak; "Well Professor, the article by Skeeter was lies and half truths to the highest extreme! Fleur didn't cruelly break my heart or say any of the vile things that Skeeter printed in her fairy tale. We were attending the ball as friends so that all of the guys that wouldn't leave Fleur alone otherwise would, and I'm sure you saw or heard about her kissing me in the middle of the hall during the ball. Well, it was just a tactic to get Davies to leave her alone and she apologised to me once we were outside. We ended up dancing outside as you could still clearly hear the music and we didn't want to face everyone after the scene we had made inside."

Professor Flitwick was nodding gently as he listened to Harry speak and Harry was relieved that his head of house was now smiling more warmly towards him than he had been before.

"Thank you for confiding in me Harry, I was fairly confident that what Rita Skeeter had written about you and Miss Delacour was untrue, but it was nice to hear that from you personally. I also know that you are not simply under the effect of Miss Delacour's allure that might make you defend her in such a way as I can see that your gaze is sharp and focussed, unlike the usual look of men falling under the power of the allure who tend to have glassy eyes and somewhat vacant expressions most of the time."

Harry looked up sharply at the Professor's words that told him that someone actually believed that Harry was truly a friend to Fleur and neither was under control by magic or potions. Seeing the look in his student's eyes Professor Flitwick continued; "I have seen enough evidence in the last few months to see what those under the allure look like and you have never looked like that, except for when you first saw Fleur at the Yule ball."

Here harry blushed brightly with the knowledge that his favourite Professor had seen his rather dazed look when he had seen Fleur in her dress on the night of the Yule ball, which caused Flitwick to smile slightly before he pressed on.

"I would also know if either of you was under control by potions or by the imperious curse as I didn't tell you but one of the wards I put up when we entered the room was to detect for any outside influences that might be controlling how you answered my questions, and I am happy to say that at no point during our conversation has the ward flared so I am one hundred percent sure that any feelings you or Miss Delacour have for each other are real."

Harry thought about being angry for his Professor testing him for potions of curses without his consent, but he knew that had he been under any influences he would have most likely declined permission and his professor was just looking out for him. However something that gave Harry pause was how Professor Flitwick had worded his understanding of Harry and Fleur's relationship as friends. It almost sounded like there was something more there that Harry didn't know or didn't see yet and he wondered what his Professor knew that he didn't.

"Thank you for having trust in me to know what I was doing Professor and I hope I have cleared up any potential misunderstanding you might have had."

"My pleasure Harry. Now I believe that a certain friend is probably looking for you right about now so, off you go. Don't keep a lady waiting."

Harry bade his Professor good night and he set off towards the grounds and the Beauxbatons carriage, but half way there he was found by Aurelia and Cedric who had been looking for him.

"There you are Harry, Neville said that Flitwick had asked to see you, but never mind that Fleur has been asking to see you."

"Lead on then Cedric."

Cedric and Aurelia didn't take Harry outside to the Beauxbatons carriage like he had been expecting, but instead they lead him up to the seventh floor to a corridor that contained the portrait of Barnabas the barmy trying to teach trolls to dance for the ballet, before Cedric walked back and forth in front of the wall three times, and to Harry's amazement a door appeared. Leading him through the door, Harry found himself in a comfortable room that greatly resembled the common rooms of the houses. Inside the room was Fleur waiting for him, sitting on one of the rather squashy looking sofas.

"Right we're off now then Harry." Cedric said as he and Aurelia opened the door and left the room.

With the only person to deflect their attention from each other gone both Harry and Fleur suddenly felt rather self conscious of the other looking at them and they shied away from each other. In an attempt the break the awkward silence that had fallen in the room, Harry asked a question that he had wanted to ask Cedric before he had left but hadn't got the opportunity to.

"What is this place, I've never seen it before?"

Fleur seemed rather reluctant to answer his question as she was trying to keep a grip on her emotions and not just blurt out every fear that had crossed her mind since the previous morning.

"Cedric said zat it was called the room of requirement and that it only appears if you visualise what you need it to be."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement of Fleur's answer to his question but he knew that they couldn't skirt around the issue that he had been brought here for any more; they just needed to get it over with and deal with any consequences that might come from this conversation.

"So I'm guessing that you wanted to talk about the article in the Daily prophet by that vindictive bitch Skeeter." Harry stated simply trying to get to the heart of the issue as fast as possible to not make the situation even more unbearable than it already was.

"Yes 'Arry zat is why I asked Cedric to come and find you. I 'oped that we could at least talk about it before we decided anything." Fleur said in a rather down trodden way that was nothing like her usual self.

"What do you mean by decide anything? Nothing's changed, has it?" Harry inquired rather worried at what Fleur was implying.

Fleur laughed a bitter laugh before she spoke in a tone that harry felt only conveyed a small portion of her anger and upset over the whole ordeal.

"Of course things have changed 'Arry. Now the whole country believes zat I am a 'eartless cruel Veela who 'as ensnared your mind and broken your 'eart. Why should you 'ave to deal with the problems zat I will cause."

Harry was shocked that Fleur Delacour, his friend Fleur Delacour who had taken on an dragon and the entire male population of the school and won would be cowed by a vindictive harpy who had the sheep of wizarding Britain all dancing to her tune.

"Fleur surely you don't mean that. You know that I don't believe a word that vile woman prints in her fairy tales. I know you are not using me so you can win the tournament. Why should you be forced to do something when all your problems were caused by meeting me and having to deal with the idiots here in Britain!"

Fleur was starting to cry at this point and she appeared to be forcing her to say her words, even if she didn't want to have to say them in the first place.

"Please don't make this any 'arder than it already is 'Arry. You are not to blame for any of zis, but I cannot take people zinking zat I 'ave ensnared you. I don't want to do zis since you are my friend and you 'ave allowed me to have more friends zan I ever thought possible because of my heritage, but I do not wish to cause you any more problems so please, for both our sakes, stay as far away from me as you can."

With her final words Fleur stood up and fled from the room with tears rolling down her face and it nearly broke Harry to see her so upset, but she was gone before he could stop her or try to get her to change her mind. Harry was too shocked to do or say anything for a long while after Fleur had left the room, he was vaguely aware that at some point he had laid down of the sofa he had been sitting on and before he could stop it his emotions boiled over the edge. Tears started to make their way down his face from emerald green eyes that were usually so vibrant, now looked dead and lifeless. Harry had known that it was only a fool's dream, but had dreamt that one day he might have been able to tell Fleur how he felt. How he might well have been falling in love with her. How he loved her for more than just her looks but her intelligence, her loyalty to her friends and her sense of humour that had left him blushing brightly on more than one occasion. Now all of that potential was gone. Harry was pretty sure he was feeling love rather than lust because...because he didn't think that lust would hurt like this.

For how long Harry lay on the sofa in the magical room of requirement he did not know, all he knew was that it was extremely late in the night when he looked at his watch and instead of trying to get back to Ravenclaw tower and potentially be caught out after hours by a teacher or prefect, he visualised for a bed to appear in the room and after shedding his robe he buried himself under the covers and fell asleep.

However sleep was not the blissful escape from his current situation that he thought it might be as he was subjected to bad dreams for almost his whole night.

The Dream

 _'It was the last day of the Triwizard tournament and Fleur had been crowned Triwizard champion after an amazing performance in the third task. As she held up the Triwizard cup to thunderous applause she was asked to make a speech by her fellow champions and teachers to which she obliged to. "Thank you everyone for your congratulations, it means a lot that my good friends could be here to witness my victory." Harry smiled up at her and thought that she was talking about all the help that he and Cedric along with Aurelia had provided even though Cedric was her competitor."I don't think I could have done it at all if it wasn't for my best friend, confidant and since I am saying yes to his proposal, my fiancé ...Michael Potter!" There was more applause and a few whoops and cat calls as Michael Potter stepped up beside Fleur and drew her into a long passionate kiss. In the audience Harry's blood was on fire as he watched the woman he loved returning the advances of his arrogant bastard of a brother and he had to maintain a very high level of self control to not storm out or curse his brother. However his plight was noticed by Fleur and Michael Potter who quickly brought it to the attention of the rest of the audience. "Oh yes Harry Potter. Did you really believe all that crap about me causing you all those problems? As if it was anyone's fault but yours following me around like a lost puppy as you did. No I simply wanted to get away from you and your worthless friends and be with my wonderful boyfriend!" Harry was looking at her with an expression of pure disbelief and pain at what she was saying, but now it was Michael Potter's turn to add his own thoughts on the matter. "Fleur told me how you bought that story about me sexually harassing her hook, line and sinker. Like I would ever do that to her. It was all just foreplay and it made her rather feisty later that night to tell the truth." Michael Potter smirked at his brother before allowing Fleur to pick up where he had left off. "You Harry were a rather good diversion, while everyone was thinking that I hated Michael it made it easier to meet him around the castle and Hogsmeade in secret, but we don't need to hide our relationship anymore." Seeing the broken look on Harry's face Fleur smirked viciously at him; "Oh look Michael I think you brother fancied me, maybe even loved me. Can you imagine anything so pathetic and tragic, as if I could ever love someone as weak as him?" When Fleur had finished speaking there was silence in the audience for a few seconds before the laughter directed at Harry started from all sides. Harry got up and ran out of the hall with tears burning his eyes but the laughter followed him down the hall where Harry just found his parents and Sirius sneering at him before they turned their backs on him to congratulate Michael and Fleur for their upcoming wedding.'_

Harry woke with a start with sweat pouring down his body. Realising it had all just been a dream he calmed down but then he remembered that Fleur really had asked that he keep away from her and he feared that what he had seen in his dream would come true and he wasn't sure if he would be able to take it really happening. Checking his watch Harry saw that it was nearing 9am but thankfully it was also a Saturday so he didn't need to rush as they would still be serving breakfast in the Great hall until 10am. Using the capabilities of the room Harry was able to shower and put on clean robes, but found that he would have to go down to the Great hall as he was unable to get food to appear so that he could eat in peace without students trying to harass him.

As Harry entered the Great hall he looked around for Fleur in the same spot they usually sat at to see if she had rethought her decision from yesterday, but to his disappointment she was absent from the Ravenclaw table. As he made his way towards the table students began to notice his presence and more whispering broke out when they realised that Fleur was nowhere to be seen and Harry was fairly sure that they believed that he really had been under the influence of her allure, but now he was free of it. During the course of his meal Harry was approached by a variety of his house mates both male and female who apologised for their actions towards him as they 'claimed' that they knew he hadn't been in control of his actions and they didn't blame him for not being able to break the Veela's control. All this did was make harry feel more upset that Fleur had been driven away by the population of Hogwarts bar a few intelligent people who had be brainwashed by a lying bitch with a quill.

It was much later that day that Harry did get a brief glimpse of Fleur as she exited the entrance hall on her way back to the Beauxbatons carriage where their eyes did meet for a brief second, but she shook her head at his look and continued walking. It was on the way back to Ravenclaw tower that Harry was intercepted by Cedric and Aurelia who were both concerned over the behaviour of their friends and they hadn't been able to get any answers out of Fleur so they had come to find Harry. In the end they made the trip back up to the seventh floor and into the room of requirement to talk.

"So what happened between you and Fleur Harry?" Cedric began a little more bluntly than Harry would have liked, but probably not intentionally.

"Fleur said that she was causing me too many issues with what the Daily Prophet was writing about us so she told me that we needed to stay away from each other. She said that the further away from her I was the better off I would be!" Harry replied in a rather mournful tone, all while trying to not let his emotions get the better of him and start crying again.

Cedric and Aurelia looked shocked at what Harry was saying but they allowed him to continue.

"I thought that it was my entire fault, if I hadn't asked her to the ball then none of this would have happened and we would be fine just like always." Harry continued in a defeated tone. Here thought Cedric intervened on Harry's rather depressive mood.

"No Harry if you hadn't asked her then she most likely would have had to accept the invite from Davies and we both know that he doesn't take no for an answer very well. Fleur was only telling Aurelia the other day what a nice time she had had at the ball and that she was glad that you had suggested that you go as friends, so stop thinking that this is your entire fault because it's not."

Harry looked at the older boy appreciatively as he spoke; "Thank you Cedric I needed to hear that, but it doesn't make this any easier to bear."

A.N/ I hope I didn't go to overboard with some of these scenes, but they seemed to be right when I wrote them. If it is then blame it on Harry only being fourteen and from having been a teenager myself not all that long ago I know they can be total drama queens when they want to be and will hugely exaggerate what is happening to them.


	9. Chapter 9: The Second Task

**A.N/ I'm back! Finally. If you have been wondering what took so long I had the most incredible writer's block that meant I could stare at the screen for hours and not type a single word. Also with the launch of Destiny: The Taken King that had sucked up most of my free time as I have three characters to run through the new content and I routinely get asked to help out with things. All in all this meant that I had little energy to write the rest of this chapter but hopefully now that I have finished this chapter the next one will come easier to me.**

Chapter 9: The Second Task

It had been several weeks since Fleur had asked Harry to stay away from her and it hadn't got any easier for Harry to see his friend, but not be able to talk to her or even greet her in the halls when she passed. More and more students had approached Harry to apologise for what they had said or did to him stating that they didn't realise that he was under the control of Fleur's allure and that they were sorry that they thought he could act like he did, This attitude angered Harry as he got the impression from them that they believed that had Roger Davies or any other guy in Ravenclaw or any of the other houses shown an interest in Fleur and asked her to the ball, he would have simply stood aside and wished them luck.

There was also an increase in how much the other Hogwarts students were slandering Fleur and her heritage as she had in their minds harmed one of Hogwarts' own student even if he wasn't a particularly popular one, Fleur had still wronged him and they would stand by one of their own rather than an outsider. It was during one of the daily sessions over dinner that much of Ravenclaw house was slandering Fleur loud enough so that Harry could hear but not so loud that they would get in trouble for it. Harry supposed that they were doing this in a rather demented and misguided attempt to cheer him up from having his heart supposedly broken by the wicked Veela. However all it caused him to do was snap at people as his temper grew ever shorter as he tried to stop people from saying horrible things about Fleur, but any time he tried it was just treated as a side effect of prolonged exposure to Fleur's allure and he didn't mean what he said.

One of the victims of Harry's frayed temper was Neville who had simply asked Harry if he knew anything about the second task from Cedric or Aurelia.

"No Neville I don't and why ask me? Why not ask Cedric or Aurelia if you're such good friends with them. I'm sure they'll tell you all you need to know!" Harry snapped rather viciously at his Gryffindor friend. Neville looked rather taken aback by Harry's outburst that had come out of nowhere and was about to leave and rejoin the other Gryffindors when Harry spoke again.

"I'm sorry Neville, I didn't mean that. You haven't done anything wrong and I'm directing my anger at you and you don't deserve that at all. I'm just so sick of all these people asking me for details about the second task and harassing me about Fleur that it all got too much."

Neville had a sympathetic expression on his face as he responded to Harry's apology; "I understand Harry. Apology accepted. All these people asking questions that they don't have any right to know the answers to must drive you insane, but why don't you swear an oath in front of the school that Fleur has not been leading you on and what Skeeter said in her article was complete bullshit?"

Harry looked around him before he answered and both he and Neville could see that a number of people were eavesdropping both stealthily and blatantly so Harry shook his head and simply stated; "Not here, there are too many listeners. I'll talk to you after dinner." With that Harry went back to his food leaving a crowd of disgruntled Ravenclaws around him who had been hoping to find out the latest gossip from him.

Once he was finished with dinner Harry led Neville and the recently turned up Luna up to the seventh floor and into the Room of Requirement where he made sure that no-one else could enter and no-one could eavesdrop on their conversation, after which he sat down on one of the sofas the room had provided and began to speak.

"I'm not sure if I can make a magical oath because..." Here Harry trailed off and looked rather shamefaced at whatever he was currently thinking would prevent him from declaring an oath to clear up any problems.

"Because what Harry? What is holding you back from this?" Neville cut in seeing his friend's reluctance to finish his sentence.

"I'm...I'm afraid that if I was to make this oath and then I would find out through the oath that Fleur really had been using me this whole time and she didn't care about me at all it would just prove what Skeeter has written about to be true. Also if I was to word the oath even slightly in a way that might mean that I was certain that Fleur isn't deceiving me and she was the oath might take my magic as punishment."

Both Neville and Luna were rather wide eyed upon hearing this from Harry and Luna was faster to regain herself than Neville in order to ask a question; "How can you think that? Why do you think that Fleur could do something like that?"

"I know it seems insane and paranoid that I think Fleur might do something like that, but it isn't helped by the dreams I have been having about it." Harry said in a small voice that only could be heard by Neville and Luna if they leaned into towards Harry. Harry saw that they were motioning him to continue with his explanation and he sighed but he knew his friends needed to know and it might help to share his fears with them.

"In my dream it's the award ceremony for the Triwizard tournament and Fleur is champion. She's thanking everyone for their help and just as I'm thinking she's about to thank me for all the help I gave her she announces that it was Michael who helped her all along and that they were engaged. She says that her friendship with me was just a cover and that they had been dating long before Fleur came to Hogwarts. It all ends with the school laughing at me and my parents and even Sirius treating me like I'm not worthy of being part of their family. I know that it's just a dream, but a part of me won't let it go and a fear to find out that it will be what will happen."

Neville and Luna sat there for a while just taking in what Harry had said and trying to make sense of his fears and try and come up with some advice to give him, but they were unable to do so. In the end it was Luna who finally said something to Harry; "I don't think that you can know for sure if Fleur does care for you even if all the evidence points towards her feelings being real and not just a smokescreen. I also think that when the time comes you need to follow your heart and let go of logic and your fears, only by risking everything will you ever know for certain."

This was a rather deep answer from the usually dreamy voiced Luna which threw both Harry and Neville for a loop as they hadn't heard her say something like this since Harry had recounted the tale of how Cedric had broken up with Cho Chang to Neville and the strange quip that Luna had left Cedric with. However it had given Harry some pause for thought in what Luna could possibly mean by following his heart and it made Harry think that possibly Luna knew something that he didn't.

It had been a rough couple of weeks for one Fleur Delacour as without Harry around as a help with tournament preparation she was finding herself on her own most of the time. Sure enough Cedric and Aurelia still kept her company from time to time, but due to their increasingly serious relationship blossoming they were spending increasingly long times away from her to be together and Fleur simply couldn't find it anywhere in her to be jealous or resentful. Fleur knew that Aurelia had gone for almost as long as Fleur herself had without dating anyone as the type of attention that she garnered was from the sort of men that she wanted nothing to do with, so now that Aurelia was dating a true gentleman, Fleur was simply happy for her friend.

However this didn't detract from the feelings of loneliness and loss that Fleur was feeling at Harry's absence even if it had been at Fleur's own request that he stay away from her. Fleur wasn't stupid or deaf so she had known for some time what the other Hogwarts students had been saying about her behind her back and sometimes while she was in earshot. She longed to shut the masses up about how she was apparently the biggest, most cold hearted bitch to ever walk the ancient halls of Hogwarts, but she knew she couldn't as people would twist her actions around to her being the Veela that tried to subjugate the school or some other such nonsense that the students or the press might dream up. This also meant that Fleur was unable to speak to Harry as any conversation between the two would be seen as Fleur trying to regain control of her thrall and it would most likely be a rather unpleasant outcome. Fleur had convinced herself that the feelings of loss within her heart were simply due to the fact that she had lost a friend possibly permanently due to her being unwilling to stand up against the view of what seemed all of Britain, but in the back of her head was a voice that occasionally taunted her that she was simply deluding herself to her true feelings for Harry.

Without the support from Harry it had also become a lot harder for Fleur to find a way to stay under water for an hour for the second task, as the library in Hogwarts was vast and it was like looking for a knarl amongst hedgehogs with any information that would be helpful. The isolation from her new friends also meant that Fleur was unable to use the Black family Library like she had during the run up to the first task as again this would mean asking Harry to write to Sirius and if her request was leaked to the general population then it would just fuel the fire that said that she was simply using Harry.

Cedric had tried to help with the search for a solution to her breathing underwater problem by discreetly asking around including asking Neville and Luna for help and he had found out about the plant Gillyweed that might well help Fleur. It was a good idea in theory but alas it would not be a viable solution to Fleur's problem as Gillyweed did not react well with those of Veela blood or heritage, reports of other Veela using the plant had all ended with the unfortunate user drowning when they changed back prematurely or being stuck with gills permanently.

In the end it had been after many hours of fruitless searching through spell books that both Fleur and Cedric had found the bubble head charm that would allow them to breath underwater for as long as the bubble was undamaged. Cedric would also have to rely on the bubble head charm as Gillyweed was a rather rare plant and as such samples of it were expensive and had to be ordered which made it practically impossible for Cedric to get hold of unless he asked Professor Snape and Cedric felt he would rather declare his undying love for Michael Potter than ask Snape for help.

In the final few weeks before the second task all of the champions bar Michael Potter were starting to get nervous at what they would be retrieving from the Black lake and what they might encounter whilst in the rather foreboding lake. The last few weeks were also rather stressful for Harry as his brother was making it his daily duty to goad him about how Fleur didn't want anything to do with him anymore like it had said in Skeeter's article in the Daily Prophet and how he reckoned that Fleur had ditched him in search of a real man to please her. It had taken an inhuman level of effort for Harry to not snap and punch his brother in his smug face, but he had managed it as he knew his brother would win if he goaded him into violent action which in turn would prove just how much Harry had been hurt by Fleur's actions.

The evening before the day of the second task Harry had tried again to speak to Fleur in the Great hall during dinner just so he could wish her luck for the task that was in front f her the next day, but she averted her eyes and walked away. Feeling despondent that he couldn't even wish his friend luck Harry started to make his way up the stairs to the Ravenclaw tower, but before he had reached the top he heard his name being called.

"Mr Potter may I speak with you please."

Harry turned round to find Professor McGonagall at the foot of the stairs looking up at him so he turned round and made his way back down to her.

"Yes Professor. What did you need to speak to me about?"

"It is not something that should be discussed out in the open, so if you would come with me to my office."

"Certainly Professor."

With Harry's words of agreement Professor McGonagall started off towards her office with Harry following behind. During the trip he was wondering what he had done that could possibly merit a discussion away from prying eyes and open ears as to the best of his knowledge he hadn't broken any school rules recently. To further Harry's confusion as he stepped inside McGonagall's office after she had opened the door he saw Hermione Granger, Aurelia Beaulieu and Sophie Ridgewell already inside waiting.

Before Harry could voice his question he was cut off by Professor McGonagall; "Now I know you must be confused as to why I have asked you all here tonight, so I will be as blunt as possible to let you know what is happening. The four of you were selected as hostages for the four champions as you are something that they would sorely miss. As such you will be placed under a sleeping spell that shall not wear off until you surface again, whether or not you are rescued by your appropriate champion. This spell shall allow you to be placed underwater at no personal risk as you for all intents and purposes be in a form of petrification that is a side effect of this spell."

There was silence and four rather shocked expressions after Professor McGonagall had finished speaking and it seemed that no-one was going to speak until Harry finally managed to get his thoughts in order and breached the silence.

"Hold on a minute, you're phrasing it like we have no choice in this matter. And this tournament isn't exactly safe to begin with bearing in mind what lives in the lake so why should any of us agree to be placed under this spell?"

Harry's rather defiant expression was met only with a jovial tone coming from the door that was coming from the headmaster Albus Dumbledore; "Well Mr Potter it quite clearly states in the Tournament rulebook that any student that is not of age may be used in any task as long as permission is granted from that students parent or parents. In addition you may have your doubts about this task but I can assure you that you will be safe despite what the clue in the egg said, and if you insist of fighting this then we will simply have to obliviate this meeting from your mind and get Miss Delacour's younger sister here to act as her hostage."

"No!" Was all that Harry could say in response, he knew that Fleur would be weaker in the water than she was on land, but she was an adult and Fleur's sister was but a child and he didn't know what the cold water might do to a prepubescent Veela. However his unwillingness to let Fleur's sister be the hostage didn't detract from the fact that he was angry at his parents for signing off on this without even asking him first.

"Then I take it that you are willing to participate in this task as a hostage then Mr Potter?"

After receiving and affirmative nod from Harry and the others in the room, Dumbledore started to move his wand in an intricate pattern whilst chanting words in what Harry thought was Latin but he wasn't sure. Soon Harry began to feel sleepy and though he tried to fight it on instinct he soon succumbed to the spell and was asleep. The last thing he saw was the other students dropping down like puppets that had had their strings cut and a rather sinister looking smile on Dumbledore's face.

When Fleur awoke the following morning she could feel her stomach trying to force its way out of her by any means necessary, however she quelled the urge to vomit and showered and dressed before heading to the Great hall in Hogwarts to eat breakfast. Upon arriving at the Great hall she was met at the door by Cedric who looked worried and seemed to be keeping in his panic only just barely.

"Have you seen Aurelia this morning Fleur? I can't find her anywhere." Cedric said quickly as his voice betrayed the nerves that he was feeling.

"Non I thought zat she was with you?" Fleur replied in a confused tone. It wasn't like Aurelia to not be here to show support for her friends and boyfriend.

"No I haven't seen her since she was called away by Madam Maxime last night. Come to think of it Madam Maxime did look rather grave when she came to get Aurelia and I just realised that I haven't seen Harry this morning either."

The implications of this suddenly hit them and in unison they looked each other dead in the eyes and mouthed 'We've taken what you'll surely miss'. Like a speeding bludger the truth of the situation hit them as they realised with a dawning horror where their friends and in Cedric case girlfriend were. Forcing themselves back into the Great hall they made each other eat something despite the fact that both wanted to throw up from fear and nerves right at this very moment, but they knew that they would need their strength not only for the task ahead but also for saving those that were dear to them.

All too soon they were walking down to the dock at the edge of the lake before boarding a boat that would take them to the platforms that had been erected in the middle of the lake as the starting position of the champions. When they reached the platform they were ushered into changing rooms with Fleur in one, and Cedric and Viktor sharing with Michael Potter in the other one. Inside their named lockers were customised swimsuits that had their names on them along with school colours (Michael and Cedric's had house colours as well) for them to use during the task. Each of these swimsuits came with a wand holster that could be fitted to either their arm or their ankles depending on personal preference.

Whilst Fleur was changing into her slightly less modest than she would have liked swimsuit she was trying to keep the fears in her mind at bay. What if she couldn't save Harry? What if she lost him forever after this task was completed if she didn't save him? Fleur was pretty sure that they wouldn't allow that to happen but something about Albus Dumbledore and Ludo Bagman's rather unsettling enthusiasm at this task made her fear otherwise. That and the general way that most of Britain treated the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived, they treated him like he was a waste of space and that they wouldn't care at all if he was to die in some tournament task. These thoughts also set off a rather alien feeling inside of her that was more than just the hurt that she would feel over losing a friend, but she couldn't be sure what the feeling was, only that she was sure that she would not be losing Harry today.

Hearing Dumbledore speaking to the crowd Fleur knew that this was her cue to exit the changing room and assemble along with her fellow champions at the starting position.

"Last night something was taken from each of our champions, a treasure of sorts, now they must find this treasure within an hour or their chances of recovering this item becomes rather bleak."

Cedric, Fleur and Viktor all shared a look that spoke volumes at what they were all thinking that summed up as; "Shut up and let us get on with this." Which was combined with the other thought; "How can you take joy out of kidnapping people?"

As the four champions lined up on the platform Fleur saw that Michael Potter didn't look all that worried and this made her frown as a bubble head charm might well be far beyond the magic he had studied thus far at Hogwarts, but seeing her look Cedric filled her in.

"Cocky little git has got hold of Gilllyweed, must have used his families money to order some once he knew what the task was. Must be nice, to have everything handed to you on a silver platter instead of researching how to complete this task!" Cedric added rather bitterly as he frowned at Michael Potter who seemed to be basking in the attention that the four champions were currently receiving.

It was then that they heard a firecracker go off from the Headmaster and they all dived into the water whilst performing their own pieces of magic. Fleur and Cedric used the exact same enchantment and conjured bubble head charms around their nose and mouth respectively so as to have a steady supply of oxygen. Before he disappeared they saw that Viktor had transfigured himself into a part shark with just the head and gills, whilst leaving his arms and below his neck untransfigured. They also saw Michael Potter swimming away after he had ingested him Gillyweed and was now powering away from them with his webbed feet and gills.

Fleur and Cedric did try to stay together initially on the task, but the dark waters of the lake combined with the different speeds in which they swam meant that they were soon separated leaving Fleur alone as she tried to dive down deeper into the lake to find the Merpeople.

Fleur had been making good progress despite her dampened magical abilities when suddenly something grabbed hold of her leg and pulled her down. Looking down whilst pulling out her wand Fleur saw that the creature that had grabbed her was a Grindylow. This was bad as Grindylows were almost never alone and that there was likely many more hidden away amongst the underwater plant life of the lake. Despite this knowledge Fleur fired off a weak stunning spell that would simply knock the water demon out for a few hours before it came to. However despite the fact that the spell connected with its intended target, this seemed to ignite the wrath of the other Grindylows that had been hiding around her and they quickly swarmed her.

Fleur tried her best to fight them off with stunners and some weak blasting curses to try to scare them off but they just swarmed around her even more fiercely to the point that she couldn't get a clear shot on any other them as she might hit herself by accident. The situation took a turn for the worse when one of the horned water demons popped her bubble head charm as the bubble had weakened from Fleur being unable to focus on it while she was casting other spells. Panic soon set in as Fleur tried to recast the spell, but she kept being thrown off by the swarm of Grindylows that would keep knocking against her arm when she tried to make the proper motions to get the bubble head back. Soon Fleur couldn't hold her breath anymore and she started to swallow water, desperately he tried one last attempt at casting the spell before the world turned black as she passed out.

The next thing she was aware of was water being ejected from her lungs as she coughed and spluttered as she drew in breath. As Fleur came to she looked around and realised that she was back on the starting platform which meant that she had been rescued from drowning, but with a jolt she remembered that Harry was still in the lake somewhere waiting for her to rescue him. Fleur fought tooth and nail with the Hogwarts healer to be allowed to continue with the task, but the healer effused on the grounds that Fleur had almost drowned just minutes ago and that she had forfeited the task automatically after she had to be rescued. Fleur was devastated that she couldn't try to save Harry as the final words of the clue kept coming back to her as much as she tried to not think about it.

As time passed Fleur grew more and more worried about not only where the other champions were, but also on whether or not she had condemned Harry to death because she had failed. Fleur was nearby when Michael Potter surfaced with Hermione Granger in his arms and although the fourth champion did get some cheers for being first back, most of the crowd both supported Cedric or Viktor and were anxious to see where they were. Minutes before the deadline both champions surfaced, but with Viktor arriving eight minutes before the deadline versus the two minutes by Cedric, it meant that Viktor was in second place for the task with Cedric taking third. Fleur knew that she had placed fourth in the task, but she cared little for points right now as she knew that she had failed Harry and that there was a good chance that she would never see him again to tell him how she felt. It was only now after losing him that Fleur could admit to herself what she had been feeling for weeks now. The pain that she had felt at being separated from Harry as well as the heightened worried feelings of that morning at breakfast were due to Fleur's deepening feelings for Harry Potter. Fleur wasn't sure if she loved him yet, but she was sure that if she wasn't in love with him now, then she was close to being so and she hated herself for needing him to be taken away from her to finally admit that. Knowing all of this and that she would never get to see what might have been Fleur started to sob silently in her private room on the starting platform.

It was like this that Cedric and Aurelia found her and they were unable to get any information or explanation as to why she was crying apart from that "she had failed him". They both took this to mean Harry who Cedric had seen tied to one of the pillars in the village of the Merpeople when he had freed Aurelia, but he had not seen him since. They were unable to stop Fleur from crying so they simply stayed with her until they were both called away by Professors to attend to various duties as both needed to eat and drink plenty to regain what energy had been lost while they were in the lake. Fleur didn't stir when her friends left, instead she curled up into a fetal potion on the bed she had been sitting on. It looked like Fleur might well spend the rest of eternity on that bed, had Cedric not suddenly come back into the room with a bundle in his arms, that Fleur thought might be a person from her spot on the bed, and a smile on his face.

Cedric put the bundle down on the bed next to her and before Fleur could say anything he was walking out the door with the parting words; "Looks like someone found some lost treasure at the bottom of the lake and thought it was best returned to you!"

Fleur sat there stunned at Cedric's words and cheerfulness before she looked at the bundle that had been left on her bed and her breath caught in her throat when she realised the bundle was Harry. This sight caused all of Fleur's feelings to rush back at once and she resisted the urge to start crying again. The noise caused Harry to stir and he opened his eyes to see Fleur looking at him with red eyes that looked like she had been crying, but she had a look of unbridled affection in her eyes that Harry was confused by what had transpired since he had been put to sleep. Seeing that Harry was awake and that she hadn't lost him, Fleur threw caution to the wind on who could walk in at any second and as she pulled Harry upright she brought him in for a deep and emotional kiss. The kiss lasted for a good thirty seconds before Fleur pulled away leaving a rather dazed and even more confused Harry in front of her.

However before harry could make sense of the situation that had unfolded in front of him and ask his numerous burning questions, he was silenced by Fleur putting a finger to his lips.

"I'm sorry 'Arry. I 'ave been a complete fool in avoiding you for all zis time. I 'ope you can forgive me for not seeing it earlier, but I...I...I zink I am falling in love with you 'Arry Potter, I was so scared when I was unable to reach you I thought zat I 'ad lost you forever and zat I would never be able to tell you 'ow I felt."

Harry saw that Fleur was tearing up again at the thought that she had almost let all this go unsaid because of the vindictiveness of one reporter. However in Harry's opinion Skeeter could go swivel if she thought that Harry would be brow beaten into not dating Fleur.

"Shh Fleur it's ok, I forgive you. At least you've told me now and if you were afraid that I would hate you for the last few weeks I won't deny that you hurt me by your actions, but it's behind us and the feelings are definitely mutual."

Fleur's eyes were watery with tears again even though these were happy tears as she answered him; "Zank you 'Arry." She cut off anything more he was about to say by kissing him just as deeply as she had before which was not something he was going to complain about. After several more minutes of just enjoying the truth about their feelings being in the open to each other and their closeness, Harry and Fleur knew that they would have to leave this room eventually, but now they would face anything out there together. So with that thought in mind they entwined each other's hand in their own and walked out the door to meet the rest of the world head on.

As the two left the room they immediately picked up on how much noise the crowd had been making in their absence but both Harry and Fleur knew that they would need to face the rest of the schools eventually. However when they reached the edge of the platform again they were able to get a clear look of what was happening and it looked like all of the spectators were currently being shipped off back to the dock in small boats in groups of five at a time. The sudden reappearance of Fleur made several students stare at her as they had witnessed her being rescued from the lake and had heard that she had finished fourth as a result of her disqualification. Unfortunately for Harry and Fleur the students also saw how close Harry and Fleur were standing together and their entwined hands began a flurry of whispers so severe that you could mistake it for steam escaping or someone speaking Parseltongue.

Soon however one of the boats came back when Harry and Fleur were near the front of the crowd and they were able to climb aboard. Rather against their wishes to be left alone by everyone else, some of the Hogwarts students tried their best to get aboard the boat that Harry and Fleur had just commandeered but only the closest three who were all girls of similar age to Harry were able to get aboard.

The boat set off as soon as all five of its passengers were seated securely which allowed the Harry and Fleur to draw the other closer for warmth and comfort, but they refrained from doing anything else as they had an audience and they didn't feel like sparking off any more rumours after what had already happened that day. However the peace that they were craving was broken by one of the girls who had been eyeing Fleur suspiciously from the moment that she had boarded the boat.

"Hey Delacour, what did you do to ensnare Potter so that he would still want you after all you have done to him?" The girl stated rather rudely while she was glowering at Fleur like her mere presence was an insult.

Fleur felt her anger rise to almost eruption status and she was about to give the Hogwarts girl a piece of her mind when Harry cut in with an answer; "Nothing. She did nothing to ensnare me as you so rudely put it. What Skeeter said in her article was nothing but lies and slander!" Harry said rather forcefully whilst glaring at the girl that dared to challenge the couple on how they felt about one another.

"Like we're just supposed to believe that! For all we know you could be under her influence right now and she's making you say all this to defend her and hide her actions!" The girl retorted sharply and Harry noticed while he was icily glaring at her that she was a Gryffindor student possibly one year below him. However Harry knew what to do now when it came to people calling his fledgling relationship with Fleur into question so he pulled out his wand and smiled softly at Fleur before he spoke.

"You want proof that I am not under control? Fine then, I Harry James Potter do swear on my Life and Magic that Fleur Delacour has not ever tried to control me or manipulate me in any way nor have I tried to control or manipulate her in any way. So mote it be!" There was a flash of light as magic accepted the oath and the other occupants of the boat looked o in horror like they were sure that Harry was going to drop dead at any second. Seeing the looks on the Gryffindor student's faces Harry cast a simple lumos spell.

"There is that enough proof for you?" Harry asked the Gryffindor girls rather smugly that he had finally got one over on the rumour mongers of the school with something that couldn't have been faked that proved that what Rita Skeeter had said all year was false.

The trio of girls juts looked on in shocked silence over the epiphany that the object of many males within the castle's desire Fleur Delacour and the unknown brother of the Boy-Who-Lived harry Potter really did have feelings for each other that had nothing to do with either using spells or potions on the other. Upon reaching the dock and disembarking the boat Fleur pulled Harry off into the Beauxbatons carriage which caused a few raised eyebrows and some catcalling courtesy of the Weasley twins but Harry didn't really hear them as he was suddenly worried that what the girls on the boat had said had upset Fleur and she was trying to keep her calm facade up until she reached the sanctuary of her room.

In actual fact Harry was part right about Fleur keeping a calm demeanour until she had reached her room aboard the carriage, however it was not because she was upset like he had feared. Harry was brought up to date on how much Fleur was not upset when she pulled him into the room before she pinned him against the door and started giving him a kiss that would put a dementor to shame. For very obvious reasons Harry was not going to object to his girlfriend showing his affection in such a manner but he was forced to stop when oxygen was becoming an issue as well as Fleur's rather lithe body being pressed up against him was causing some rather embarrassing reactions from Harry which was slowly making him turn bright red.

Fleur seemed to pick up on the fact that Harry was soon going to pass out from lack of oxygen so she withdrew from kissing him whilst tugging slightly on his lip as she withdrew. Harry seemed rather dazed and had a goofy grin on his face but he was still capable of coherent thought and speech which surprised him slightly. "Not that I am complaining Fleur, but what have I done to deserve such treatment?" He said with mock fear in his voice.

Fleur smiled at him before she replied; "You surprised me 'Arry. You cast an oath against your life and magic zat I 'ad not been controlling you in any way or manipulating you either. You showed a level of trust zat I 'ave not seen outside of my family or Aurelia in many years and if anything I loved you a little bit more after you cast zat oath."

With her words finished Fleur pulled Harry back into a kiss to which Harry gave no resistance as all conversation was soon forgotten.

It was a rather relaxed and happy Harry and Fleur that entered the entrance hall of Hogwarts with their hands gently grasping the others as they made their way through the doors into the Great Hall. What greeted them was an almost solid wall of stares that originated from all four of the house tables that soon turned into a wall of whispers as they sat down at their usual spot at the Ravenclaw table. Both Harry and Fleur knew that the oath that Harry had sworn would now be common knowledge as they would have been extremely surprised if the three Gryffindor girls had not spread what they had witnessed as soon as they had gotten off the boat and had found people to gossip to.

Soon they were joined at the table by a grinning Cedric and Aurelia who when they had last seen Fleur she had been on the verge of a break down, but was clearly know very far away from that place of sadness that she had been earlier. "So Fleur you finally decided to admit the truth then?" Came the rather sly question from Cedric who was still grinning at Harry and Fleur.

"Oui Cedric I 'ave."

"About time too. I wasn't sure I could put up with another day of Mr Broody here!"

"Hey, I resent that!" Came the indignant response from Harry.

Cedric turned to face Harry before he replied; "Well it's true! I hate to break it to you Harry but you were one mopey git when Fleur wasn't speaking with you."

Fleur turned to look at Harry with concern in her eyes that such a simple action had caused him such pain and she immediately felt guilty for what pain she had caused him. Harry though saw the turmoil that was passing behind Fleur's eyes and he soon put a stop to it; "No Fleur, don't blame yourself. You were only doing what you thought was best and me moping around was not your fault, its mine for being pathetic."

Fleur's eyes watered slightly upon hearing Harry's words and she pulled him into a chaste kiss whilst ignoring the quiet cat calls coming from Cedric and the newly arrived Neville.

In various places around the hall saw different reactions to the knowledge that Harry and Fleur were in fact dating now and what Skeeter had been writing was nothing more than fabrications and lies. Over at the Gryffindor table there was a split amongst them as a lot of the anti Michael Potter part of the house were happy for Harry as he had been overlooked many times in favour of his brother whilst the faction that included his brother was jealous beyond all reason that, at least in Michael and Ron's minds, the completely unremarkable and far less appealing Harry Potter had done what no other male in Hogwarts had done and become the boyfriend of Fleur Delacour. The jealously that was present at the Gryffindor house was also present at certain places on the Ravenclaw table also as a group headed by Roger Davies looked on in jealousy and envy with the unspoken promises to themselves that they would make Harry Potter pay for defying them and that they would one day call Fleur Delacour girlfriend or wife.

Up at the Head table there was also a split in opinions as Professors Sprout, Flitwick and McGonagall were rather happy to see that one of their favourite students had indeed found some happiness despite most of the school having changes their minds about him on a weekly basis. However further down the table a certain Headmaster sat in deep thought about this new predicament of one of his back up Boy-Who-Lived candidates was dating a part Veela which Dumbledore saw as an obstacle if Harry was needed to fight Voldemort as he would want to protect Miss Delacour which would be counterproductive to his plans. Dumbledore knew that he might well need a replacement for Michael Potter soon as the boy was only just performing well enough to get through the tournament through sheer dumb luck and his family's money. The headmaster was also certain that at some point during the final task the servant of Voldemort would make his play and Dumbledore needed to keep a close eye of the fake Alastor Moody so that he could catch him and receive the credit for catching whoever was impersonating the old Auror. Finally at the head table was an opinion that would have shocked many students into thinking that they had been drugged if they knew that these thoughts were coming from one Severus Snape. He was also happy for Harry Potter as he didn't have anything against the boy himself and if it just so happened to cause Michael Potter's ridiculously over inflated ego to deflate even a little then it was a force for good in his book. Snape knew he give up almost anything to see the look on James Potter's face if his self thought Casanova son came home to tell his father that there had been a beautiful woman at school the entire year who had also been a fellow Triwizard champion who had not only gone out of her way to avoid him but had begun dating his brother. Severus allowed himself to chuckle mentally at what this would look like and made the mental note to use this for any further patronus memories as it gave him such a warm feeling.

For the next few days at Hogwarts all any of the students seemed to be talking about was the relationship between the beautiful Beauxbatons champion Fleur Delacour and the still relatively unknown brother of the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter. The fact that Harry had sworn an oath upon his life and magic that neither he nor Fleur had bewitched or potioned the other in any way just added more fuel to the fire as Rita Skeeter's article on them just after the Yule Ball was still somewhat fresh in people's minds and they were looking for any loop hole in the oath that would allow for an outside influence.

Both Harry and Fleur found this extremely irritating as they were constantly being harassed while they were inside the castle by students who wanted answers from them and thought that by just confronting them in public they would immediately tell them as to what nefarious plans they had been up to. This in itself seriously cut down on the amount of time Harry and Fleur could spend together to help build their relationship on top of the time that they couldn't be together as Harry was still in lessons whilst Fleur was preparing for the Final task.

However something to distract Harry from how annoying the majority of the school was being was the news from Neville from inside Gryffindor tower that once again a certain female red head was rather angry at Michael Potter. From what Neville had heard of the arguments was that Ginny Weasley was still extremely angry that Hermione Granger had gone with Michael Potter to the Yule ball when it should have been Ginny who did so. At least in her mind that was what should have happened. Add on to that fact that Hermione had been someone that Michael would sorely miss and as such had been Michael's hostage during the second task made Ginny, in her rather deluded mind, think that Hermione was encroaching on what was her territory and that as her friend she shouldn't betray her like that.

The response from Hermione Granger had been initially one of placating Ginny's feelings whilst both Ron and Michael were around but Neville swore that as soon as the two boys had left Hermione was threatening Ginny under her breath that she was poised to become Michael's girlfriend and potentially the future Lady Potter and no silly little girl was going to take such a thing from her. According to Neville the expression on Ginny Weasley's face was a mixture of shock and dark anger at a girl who used to be one of her best friends and after Hermione left, with a rather smug expression on her face truth be told, Ginny was muttering all kinds dark and violent thoughts about what she was going to do to Hermione in order to reclaim the Boy-Who-Lived.

It was several days later that Harry was once again accosted by the infamous Weasley twins while he was heading back to the Ravenclaw tower one evening. Instead of speaking to him they simply knelt down in front of him and started to bow comically whilst chanting; We are not worthy! We are not worthy! Which caused Harry to chuckle at the duo's actions before one of the twins began to speak to him.

"Oh great and powerful Lord Potter we humbly request you train us in your arts so that we might also attract beautiful witches to us."

Harry grinned evilly at them before he responded; "I'm afraid I must decline my loyal subjects. You are not yet ready for what I would have to teach you, but in time you may prove yourselves!"

The twins adopted mirror image looks of mock adoration as they spoke in unison; "We will become better Dark Lord Potter. We will make you proud my Lord!"

With that the twins leapt up and with one more bow they hurried off and Harry felt slightly worried for whoever crossed their path now would either be serenaded if they were female or pranked if they were male, or perhaps they would do both of neither. Either way Harry only lasted until the twins had fully disappeared before he cracked up laughing at the absurdity of the last few minutes.


	10. Chapter 10: Third Task Preparations

**A.N/ Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year, Yes I know I'm extremely late with both and I haven't posted anything in months. What can I say first there was the writer's block, then I got a job with Royal Mail with really unsocial hours which destroyed my ability to write. Next was the fact that I recently bought myself and Xbox One (If I'm ever going to finish this story that might have been a mistake) and the obviously there was Christmas. In the end this chapter is slightly shorter than the previous ones I've posted mostly because it might well have been another month if I'd tried to write more.**

Chapter 10: Third Task Preparations

Over the course of the next few weeks Harry and Fleur's relationship grew at a steady pace as they let the other further and further in to their hearts. However they were unable to spend as much time on their budding relationship as they would have liked as the Third task was looming ahead of all the champions, and even though it was still months away none of the champions bar one were going to sit around while they could be preparing.

In an effort to help with their training, Cedric had approached both Fleur and Viktor and asked them if they would like to train to together as he reasoned that although they were opponents in the tournament, they were all friends outside of the tournament which meant that none of them would want to see the others badly hurt. Both Fleur and Viktor whole heartedly agreed with Cedric's idea to work together before the Third task as they still remembered that the tournament was supposed to be about strengthening bonds between the schools as much as possible and allowing the students to make friends with those from other countries and cultures.

There was just one small problem with Cedric's idea, well actually two. The first was that they needed somewhere to train without the rest of the school bothering them which were becoming an issue as more of the students seemed to be pestering the champions for their own recollections of the Second task. The second problem was that although the Hogwarts library could easily boast one of the best collections in magical Europe if not the magical world in general, it did not have everything and any helpful books would have the issue of being taken out by someone else and not being returned for a while which could put the champions at a disadvantage. In the end it was Fleur who came up with the solution to both of their problems as she remembered the Room of Requirement of the seventh floor had changed in such a way to her and Harry privacy that no-one could intrude on when she had been telling him she was going to stay away from him.

The memory of this event made Fleur tear up a little as she recalled how foolish she had been before she shook herself and reminded herself that she was now with Harry and he had forgiven her for her own perceived weakness. It was also Harry who had provided the resolution to the second problem as Fleur remembered the small library of rare books that Harry's Godfather Sirius Black had brought with him when Harry had written to him for help before the First Task.

Cedric seemed thrilled at the idea of having books from the Black Family library at their disposal if Harry's Godfather would allow them to borrow them, but he got rather embarrassed before realising that Fleur was joking when she said that she would have to ask Harry later if he wasn't too exhausted to write a letter. Harry of course agreed as he thought it was also a good idea for them all to train together.

It was several days after that Harry received an owl at breakfast that was carrying with it a parcel and a letter in its talons. Harry eagerly ripped open the letter and began to read. The first sign that Fleur got that something was wrong was Harry's expression that changed from happy to horrified as he read the letter from his Godfather. At first Fleur was worried that it was bad news but when Harry went bright red and attempted to hide the letter she knew that it was more than likely something that Harry didn't want her to read in the letter.

Surprising Harry with a kiss to the cheek, Fleur then stole the letter out from under Harry's hand and began to read.

 _Dear Harry (and Fleur too if my Godson hasn't managed to burn this letter before you had a chance to read it)_

 _I was delighted to receive a letter from my beloved godson who I had thought had forgotten all about poor old me when faced with his divine, Goddess of a girlfriend (his words not mine). I couldn't help but be moved by the emotion that my Godson put into words at how much he wanted to help his girlfriend. I was shocked as the last time my Godson was this emotional he actually bought me a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey for Christmas after my books helped so much in the First task ( I never normally get gifts, it brought a tear to my eye). I did wonder just how head over heels in love my Godson was with you Fleur if he was buying expensive presents for you. I would gladly allow you to borrow books from my Library again and you can find them inside the parcel attached which is bag with an undetectable extension charm placed upon it to fit them all in. Also please ask my Godson to make his requests more legible next time as it was hard to get the message through all of the paragraphs of telling me how beautiful you were and how he can't believe anyone as perfect as you would settle for someone like him and how lucky he is to have the affections of an angel._

 _Love From Sirius_

 _Head Of House Black_

 _Marauder Extraordinaire_

Fleur looked up at Harry as she finished reading Sirius' letter and saw him trying to get Cedric to kill him to escape the embarrassment that was the letter. Looking at Harry with mirth in her eyes Fleur started to speak before the bell rang for first class.

"So 'Arry is there anzing zat you would like to tell me? What's all zis about asking Sirius for poetry tips?"

As Harry grew steadily redder in the face he heard the bell ring and took off out of the Great Hall as if an army of Blast Ended Skrewts were behind him, leaving most of the hall confused as to what would make Harry speed off like that and Fleur laughing quietly at the interesting conversation she was going to have later. However as it turned out other ears had heard Fleur tease Harry about writing poetry about her, as Harry's luck would have it the Weasley twins had overheard it as they had made their way over for their morning audience with their 'Dark Lord'. Fleur saw the identical evil grins that the twins cracked into when they heard her mention poetry and she suddenly felt and surge of fear for Harry as she knew they would track him down soon. Seeing that Fleur had saw them grin one of the twins simply stated;

"Make sure you're in this spot for lunch and we'll make our Dark Lord tell you exactly how he feels!"

Fleur did indeed make sure that she was sitting it the same spot for lunch as she wanted to see what the Weasley twins had planned and hoped that whatever happened it wouldn't be too embarrassing for Harry as he was already embarrassed over Sirius's jokes in his letter and would be somewhat near the edge of just finding a big hole and jumping in.

Harry showed up a few minutes after the twins did after they had come over and mixed something into the goblet of pumpkin juice that they stated had to be drunk by Harry and only Harry. It only took a few minutes for their plan to come to fruition as Harry came in and sat nervously by Fleur before taking a drink from the tainted goblet and started speaking.

"Look um Fleur, you...you know Sirius is joking right because..."

Harry suddenly cut off from his sentence and got a dreamy look on his face before he jumped out of his seat and knelt down next to Fleur and began almost serenading her.

"My Divine Goddess of Fire,

I pray you never leave me or my situation would be Dire,

I have given you my Heart,

So that together we may push back the Dark,

I hope that are souls might bind and find,

Our Hearts be Forever Entwined!"

The whole hall seemed to have stopped and silence reigned while Harry practically serenaded Fleur, but at his conclusion the surrounding students burst into applause as well as cheering and cat calls. Harry shook his head as if getting water out of his ears and he stopped dead as he realised that what had just happened was indeed real and not only that but he had said all that not only to Fleur but in front of the entire school.

This revelation caused Harry to go first very pale before he caught some of what people were cat calling him with which caused him to go bright red as he tried to leave the Great hall as first as he could. However he was stopped by Fleur catching his arm as he got to his feet and she pulled him close so that only the two of them could hear what was said. Fleur's eyes were shining with adoration at what Harry had just serenaded at her and a slight amount of mischief to which Harry felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Zat was beautiful 'Arry. Is zat what you truly feel for me?"

"Um...well you see that...uh..." Was the only response that Harry was currently capable of giving to Fleur's question as he was still trying to formulate and escape strategy that would involve finding a deep hole to hide in and hopefully dragging Sirius in with him to show his displeasure with the Marauder's pranks.

Fortunately or unfortunately depending on who you were the Weasley twins chose this moment to intervene

"Dark Lord Potter, we humbly request that you not punish us for our transgressions against you, but we felt that it would only bring you and your chosen Dark Lady closer together. Please Lord Potter we still wish to learn from you!"

Harry turned round as they were speaking to see them grinning slightly whilst trying to keep serious expressions on their faces, something that they failing miserably at.

"Know that the potion we spiked our drink with Lord Potter only allows for its drinker to reveal emotions and feelings, it can't create feelings where none exist."

Harry sighed as he was told that it was only his true hidden feelings that had been revealed to Fleur, but he was slightly miffed at the Weasley twins for forcing him to reveal such feeling in front of everyone.

"Well my minions, despite your good intentions I still feel that you must be punished, I decree that you must not prank anyone for a whole week."

The Weasley twins looked horrified at what Harry was saying even if both parties knew that Harry had no real control over them and they could do whatever they pleased.

"If that is your will master. Good evening Lord Potter, Lady Delacour."

With the final farewell the Weasley twins left Harry and Fleur to themselves with rather confused expressions at what had just happened being mirrored around them on the faces of the other students. Elsewhere in the Great Hall there was a certain Headmaster thinking; "If he is treated as a Dark Lord, what does that make me; Dark Emperor of the British Isles?"

The rest of the meal Harry refused to speak about what had transpired due to interference courtesy of the Weasley twins and Fleur didn't push him to say anymore about it as she felt that it was not a conversation that they would want to have the entire population of Hogwarts listening in on.

After they had finished eating they retreated back to Fleur's room on the Beauxbatons carriage where Fleur gently pushed Harry to sit down on her bed before sitting next to him.

"What's got you looking so scared 'Arry?" Fleur asked with a concerned look at the way Harry refused to meet her gaze.

Harry didn't answer immediately as he was trying to figure out the best way to express his emotions so that he wouldn't give Fleur the wrong impression.

"I'm not really scared Fleur, it's just that I didn't want you to hear any of what I said in the Great hall just yet." Harry replied quietly still refusing to meet Fleur's gaze with his own. "I was worried that you might think that I'm overreaching in what level our relationship is at and how much it might progress."

Harry sighed quietly before he finished speaking; "Actually you're right Fleur I am scared that you would be driven away by my feelings that I have for you that are so deep and are filled with love. I guess I was just scared that I might scare away the most important person to me I've ever met."

Fleur's heart almost broke at seeing how scared and lost harry looked in that moment, but she knew that the feeling that he had needn't last as she only had felt happiness at his serenaded words earlier.

"You 'ave nothing to be scared about 'Arry. Most men if zey were subjected to zat potion zat the Weasley twins gave you would 'ave only spoke of wanting to do things to me. Many men might 'ave wanted to make me zeir sex slave or worse. But not you, all zat potion did was uncover the love and respect you 'ave in your heart and made me really zink zat I am falling in love with you 'Arry Potter!"

Harry had at first been still looking at the floor when Fleur began to speak but as she said more about how she wasn't scared at all by his feelings he looked up at her with relief present in both his eyes and facial expression. However he did furrow his brow in anger when Fleur mentioned how most men would want to turn her into a sex slave or worse and he silently vowed that such a thing would happen over his dead body after taking down as many of those that would do Fleur harm as he could. When Fleur told Harry that she was starting to fall in love with him, Harry's emotions soared and he felt like he could take on the whole Auror corp at once.

Almost in perfect synch Harry and Fleur stopped talking and brought their lips together in a heated, passion fuelled kiss that showed the other just how much they cared for each other. Fleur revelled in the fact that despite Harry's inexperience before they had started dating he was a fast learner and was getting better and better at kissing and making her want to spend her time with him doing nothing but more and more. Harry always felt he had died and gone to heaven each and every time Fleur kissed him as her lips were inexplicably soft and she tasted so good. He couldn't quite explain what it was but he knew that if he ever refused to kiss Fleur Delacour then he needed to be committed to Saint Mungos immediately as he would have definitely lost his mind and was a danger to his fellow students.

Harry and Fleur spent the remainder of the evening attempting to look up useful spells for Fleur to potentially use during the Third task, whilst Harry attempted to do one of his dreadfully boring History of Magic essays, but both of them kept getting distracted in the other's lips so much that they eventually gave up and just used the time to enjoy being together. As it neared curfew Harry reluctantly left Fleur's room aboard the Beauxbatons carriage after being hauled back for one last parting kiss and headed up to the Ravenclaw tower.

Along the way Harry was cat called by a few students that had yet to make their way back to their house dormitories but he mostly ignored them. It was only once Harry had reached the Ravenclaw tower that he could no longer escape any words that he housemates might want to have with him about his little impromptu performance during dinner, however he soon found that he would be dealing with the repercussions of said event for a little while longer due to the fact that as soon as Harry had gotten through the portrait guardian he was greeted by all of the Muggle born and half blood students suddenly bursting into song;

"The Power of Love is a curious thing, It can make one man weep and another man sing-"

They continued on with the song for a few bars longer before breaking out into laughter which Harry found to be somewhat infectious and relieving as it looked like his housemates were not only putting a more humorous slant on what had transpired but that they were starting to accept that Harry was with Fleur and just be happy for him.

"Alright guys very funny!" Harry quipped at them even though he couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

The students simply chuckled and dispersed off to their own groupings or up to their dorms which made Harry wonder how long they had been waiting to surprise him with their joke performance. Still chuckling slightly as well Harry made his way up to his dorm room before changing and collapsing into bed. However as he was starting to fall asleep he was suddenly hit with the epiphany of two very important things he needed to address soon. The first was that he wasn't sure how he would continue to see Fleur after the current year was up as she was most likely going to return to France and they would need to work out visits during Hogsmeade weekends.

The second item on Harry's agenda was to take revenge of Sirius for implanting the idea that Harry had been writing poetry about Fleur and prompting the Weasley twins to spike his drink. Justice would be calculated and would come when Sirius least expected it to happen, hopefully at a time that he could embarrass him just as much as Harry had been embarrassed earlier.

When Fleur met Harry the next morning in the Great hall she could immediately tell that something was wrong even if he was trying to act casual about it, but she was unsure as to what might have caused Harry to act in such a way.

"'Arrry what's wrong?" Fleur asked when he seemed reluctant to meet her eyes.

"It's nothing Fleur, it doesn't matter." Harry stated trying to come up with a better way to ask his burning question.

"You are a very bad liar 'Arry. Please tell me what is bothering you. Are you still being threatened by your 'ousemates?"

Harry smiled slightly at Fleur caring so much about how he was and he felt his defences crumble under her gaze that he couldn't resist.

"It's not my housemates Fleur; they are actually getting better about the whole situation and were actually making jokes about my little performance last night. No I suddenly realised that at the end of the year you'll be returning to France and then what will we do?"

"Well what makes you zink zat I 'ave to return to France at the end of the year?"

Harry looked her dead in the eyes at her words and he stammered his next few words before he was able to speak coherently. "Wha...what do you mean Fleur? I thought that would need to be job searching and your job could be anywhere."

"Zats that zing 'Arry, I won't be job searching next year as I will still be in school." Seeing Harry's confused look she continued. "I may be seventeen 'Arry but my birthday was at the end of September which allowed me to compete in the Triwizard Tournament but I am still a sixth year student at Beauxbatons."

Harry let that all sink in for a few seconds before he responded to what he had just been told; "But you'll still be hundreds of miles away and I'll only be able to leave the school on Hogsmeade weekends which might not match up with your free weekends."

Fleur couldn't help but feel slightly more endeared to Harry than she had been before at his obliviousness to a very easy solution their issue and how he was trying to figure out how to visit her as much as possible.

"You silly, silly man 'Arry. You are creating an issue zat doesn't exist; I could easily transfer to Hogwarts for my final year of schooling."

Harry's eyes grew slightly wide at Fleur's declaration of moving to Hogwarts for her final year and he felt that he had to at least try and find out if she truly wanted to move or whether or not she was just doing something to make him happy.

"You don't have to move school's if you don't want to Fleur, I'm sure that we could figure something out."

Fleur laughed at little bit at his statement before replying; "Zank you for zinking of me 'Arry but it is un-needed. I am not just doing it to be closer to you, but I don't feel so much of a connection to Beauxbatons as you might zink. It has been almost a solitary existence zere apart from Aurelia due to my allure and the petty nature of the girls zere. Moving is going to feel strange but I ink it will 'elp me in the future to be away from zem."

Harry seemed to accept all of it but he still wanted to try and make sure that this what Fleur truly wanted to do so he tried one last time to make sure she was serious about it all if she spoke about her plan out loud. "What about Aurelia Fleur, I'm pretty sure she would miss you if you moved here?"

Harry thought that Fleur might have to consider her friends response to her transferring to Hogwarts, however all that happened was that Fleur formed a rather knowing smile on her face that all but broadcasted via a sonorous charm that she knew something Harry didn't.

"Well 'Arry I'm fairly certain she'll be fine with it as she will most likely be transferring 'ere for her final year as her birthday was two days after mine and so is also a sixth year. 'Owever zat is all conjecture as you must not 'ave noticed 'ow she and Cedric stare at each other when zey zink no-one is watching. Zey are falling for each ozzer hard and fast and I'm fairly certain zat if she didn't transfer then he would find some other way to close to her."

Harry seemed slightly surprised by all the information that Fleur had just imparted onto him, but he had to admit that he hadn't noticed how Cedric and Aurelia looked at each other as he was too busy paying attention to his own beautiful girlfriend. The conversation between Harry and Fleur had taken up most of breakfast and looking at his watch Harry realised that they were only a few minutes away from being due to meet Cedric, Aurelia and Viktor in the Room of Requirement so that they could all train together since the books from Sirius had arrived.

Harry was in a decidedly better mood than he had been earlier that day as he made his way up to the seventh floor with Fleur. The revelation that Fleur was willing to transfer schools to be with him spoke leagues on how sure and serious she was about their relationship, not to mention the fact that she had already put thought into it even before Harry had brought it up in a worried panic which simply made him smile at the thought.

As they visualised the room that they had agreed on with the others Fleur heard a few passing Ravenclaw students sing a few words from 'The Power of Love' which she noted made Harry smile slightly. As soon as the door appeared in front of them they pushed it open only to be greeted with the sight of Cedric and Aurelia locked in a passionate kiss and Viktor nowhere to be seen. Harry and Fleur looked at each other with the same look of half exasperation at their antics and half smirks at how oblivious their friends were to the fact that they had an audience.

"Oi get a room you two!" Harry shouted at them.

The effect the shout had on them was instantaneous as Cedric broke away from Aurelia with a crimson blush appearing on his face as if he had been scalded. Aurelia however had a less dramatic reaction to Harry shouting as she simply wrapped her arms around Cedric from behind and locked Harry with a formidable stare.

"We did 'ave a room Monsieur Potter before you rudely interrupted us and at least we keep our affections behind closed doors rather zan serenading them in the Great 'All."

Harry went slightly pink at what Aurelia was saying as he couldn't deny that they had technically been in a room by themselves when he and Fleur had arrived, and the fact that she was ruthlessly bringing up something that he reckoned would become a Hogwarts legend eventually; 'The moment when a Hogwarts student serenaded his French Girlfriend over lunch after he'd been potioned'.

Both Harry and Cedric were then saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of Krum who hurriedly entered the room with apologies; "I'm sorry I'm late my friends. I vas delayed. Vhat did I miss?"

The other occupants of the room all looked at each other before turning back to Viktor and almost in unison replying; "You don't want to know!" Viktor raised an eyebrow at the unilateral answer from the other four but he didn't press for details.

Soon the five of them had arranged themselves on various sofas and armchairs that the room had provided and had spread the books that Sirius had sent on the table in front of them so they could plan which would be helpful immediately and which books might sit on the back burner for now and possibly be picked up again later if they felt they had learnt as much as possible from the other books. They all agreed that they would need books such as; Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts, The Art of Transfiguration and Curses, Hexes and Jinxes: An Encyclopaedia. These were the sorts of books that would contain the magic that would help them stand up to anything that the Third Task might throw at them.

They also wrote down a list of possible creatures that they might encounter during the Third Task as they all kept in mind the Dragons in the First Task and then the Merpeople in the Second Task which still left quite a broad spectrum of creatures that they might have to fight. When it came down to practising the spells that they had found they wrote down what they would focus on during each session and then take turns either casting them at the training dummies the room was able to provide them with or at each other if they were non-lethal.

However the four older teens of the group were brought to an abrupt halt when they tried to conjure a Patronus. None of them seriously thought that they would be made to fight a Dementor or Lethifold, but knowing how stupid the Ministry for Magic could be at times when gauging threat levels they thought it was for the best that they did learn the Patronus charm. The abrupt halt was caused by the fact that all four of them were saying the incantation and thinking of a happy memory, but none of them were able to get anything more than wisps of silver smoke that didn't look like it would protect them against a strong breeze, let alone a dementor.

At first they thought that they simply didn't have enough magical training in order to cast such a spell that had the annotation under it in the book that not all witches and wizards had the power to cast such a spell. Then their salvation came in the form of Harry re-reading the explanation the book gave on how to prepare to cast the Patronus charm, although he himself was unsure if he was correct or just filling in holes where there were none.

Cedric was getting rather frustrated with their lack of success; "How can I call myself a Triwizard champion if I can't even cast this as this isn't even the highest level spell we've tried!" Aurelia tried to comfort him about it, but she too was feeling somewhat dejected over not being able to cast it either. Then Harry decided it was time to speak up.

"Hey guys I think I might know why none of us have cast it yet." The other four turned to look at him with questioning looks at to what he had found so he pressed on. "I think the reason why we're having trouble is that we're not using a happy enough memory. I tried using a simple happy memory from my childhood but all I got was wisps of smoke and the vague shape of some sort of large animal, but I think if we try a really powerful memory and let the feeling of happiness from that memory resonate throughout ourselves then it might give us enough positive energy to cast it."

Seeing that no-one was going to shoot down his theory immediately Harry pushed on and he thought about the moment when Fleur said that she felt the same way about him as he felt about her and how she might be falling in love with him. He let the good feeling fill him up until he felt only a pure feeling of carefree and happiness as he intoned the charm.

"Expecto Patronum."

At these words a bright shape burst forth from his wand before shaping into an Eagle which proceeded to fly around the room looking for threats before finding none it settled down on Harry's shoulder. It was then that they noticed that there were fireballs burning between the talons of Harry's Eagle Patronus which at first was confusing but then it clicked in one person's mind and she gave Harry a looked of pure affection that made him warm inside, which in turn further strengthened the light of the Patronus.

"You were right Harry! What memory did you use?" Cedric exclaimed in amazement after seeing his younger friends summon forth a corporeal Patronus. Harry looked at Fleur for confirmation that he was allowed to tell their friends what memory he had used as she seemed to have gathered which one he had used. At her nod of approval he told them; "It was my memory of when Fleur told me that she felt the same way about me after I was recovered from the lake after the Second task. It was the happy feeling that I had then when we started dating that I used to power my Patronus."

Aurelia, Cedric and Viktor all looked surprised that harry had been spot on with his theory as to why the charm hadn't worked until now and they were also slightly touched that Harry would share such an intimate moment with them when he could have just said a truly happy memory, but it did help them understand what would be needed in order to summon up a Patronus.

Fleur meanwhile was practically glowing with affection for Harry as not only was she at the forefront of Harry's happy memory, but she was certain that the Eagle with fireballs between its talons was a representation of her Veela side which Harry felt safe with. This in itself was a major stepping stone in her relationship with Harry as although he didn't realise it she had secretly feared that he might be scared of her Veela form which could lead to problems if she ever lost control of her emotions and transformed. This alleviated her fears as he felt that it was a guardian rather and an aggressor, but she knew that there was still the hurdle of showing him her form which would be the final breaking point in their relationship due to the fact that if he was repulsed by it then it would be almost impossible for them to become more physically intimate as it was a well documented fact that Veela were known to transform when lost in the throes of passion. However for Fleur to show Harry her Veela form she would have to be naked first which was not something that they were ready for, yet.

As the evening wore on they started to pick up and learn dozens of new spells that could be useful during the Third task, but they also realised that it was getting late and curfew would be soon. Viktor left with a slight smirk on his face and the words; 'I'm leaving first so I don't have to watch you four say good bye to each other'.

On the route back to the Ravenclaw tower Fleur suddenly pulled Harry off the main corridor into a shadowy alcove and before he could ask what was wrong, Fleur was capturing his lips with hers in a hungry, passionate kiss. The kiss lasted until Harry was sure he was going to pass out for lack of oxygen, not that it would be a bad reason for passing out he mused, and Fleur was simply holding him close.

"So is there a reason you assaulted me Madam Delacour or did you just feel like it?" Harry jested with a smile on his face.

"Zere might be Monsieur Potter, or maybe I just felt like it!" Fleur countered also with a sly smile on her face before she became more serious, "I was zanking you 'Arry as not all men zink of the Veela as you do. Most see the beautiful women but are scared of ze Veela itself which makes relationships hard. Not you though. You see my Veela form as a protector, not an aggressor."

With that Fleur stopped talking and started kissing Harry again with the same strength of passion that she had previously. It was a while later that several Ravenclaw students watched harry Potter enter the common room with a rather dazed expression and a rather goofy grin on his face as he staggered his way up to his dormitory.

 **A.N/ I will work harder to get the next chapter out in less than four months, also if people were wondering why I chose an Eagle as Harry's Patronus it was twofold. One is because the Veela form has Eagle like features and so its not too much of a stretch for Harry to see the Veela as a protector. The second is that I contemplated using an Anzu as the Patronus form, but DarknessEnthroned used that form in his story so it would seem like I was copying his ideas. Also if you haven't read his story 'A Cadmean Victory' go and read it immediately after you're done here. It is a much darker story than ine, but its an amazing story that I always look forward to reading.**


	11. Chapter 11: Meeting The Parents

**A.N/ I'm finally back again. I have been suffering from crippling writers block which is why this took so long to come out. However it is also because I had another idea bouncing around in my brain that I had to start writing. Updates from now on my be even more erratic then before as I'm going to be busy with work and other things, that and The Division came out today so that will suck up a lot of my free time.**

 **As a reminder due to the length of time since I used it in the story, bold text within the story is to indicate when people are speaking French.**

Chapter 11: Meeting The Parents

In the final few days before the Third Task, tensions in the castle seemed to reach fever pitch as did the excitement of the other students due to the fact that the task had been revealed as being set in a giant maze that would have obstacles and creatures inside to overcome. However it was the fact that all of the champions had only ten points separating first place from fourth place that had the whole student population on edge with speculation as it meant that it would only be ten minutes between Michael Potter entering the maze first and Cedric Diggory last. There had been some controversy over Michael Potter suddenly being in first place as he had not done that well during the first task and his sudden full mark finish in the second task had many wondering if he was receiving outside help during the tasks.

To try and keep their minds off of the impending task, Harry, Fleur, Cedric, Aurelia and Viktor all tried to spend as much time as possible in the Room of Requirement practising the various curses, hexes and jinxes that they had picked up from the books that they had borrowed from Sirius. Harry and Fleur were also trying to spend as much time together as they physically could much like Cedric and Aurelia were and they were fairly certain that the odd time that Viktor joined them with a slightly vacant expression on his face and a grin that he had just left his girlfriend Sophie Ridgewell, which was something that not only did the others tease him about but something that they were happy about for him as they knew from previous conversations that much like Fleur, Viktor had problems properly connecting with people due to most of them only seeing his fame like many people would only see Fleur's Veela heritage.

On the morning of the Third Task it was drawing towards the end of breakfast when Professor Dumbledore made and announcement.

"Good morning students and guests. The Third task shall commence at 8pm tonight after dinner but before that the families of the Four champions are here so all four champions are excused from any and all lessons and training sessions to spend the day with them. Thank you!" With these final words Dumbledore sat back down as noise in the Great hall went back to its normal volume.

Fleur however could see that Harry was looking slightly forlorn at the announcement and she realised that he probably would still have to go to classes as although he was family to another champion, she sincerely doubted that Michael Potter would ask for Harry to have the day off. In a sudden burst of impulsive determination Fleur spotted Harry's head of house Professor Flitwick and made her way up to speak to him.

"Bonjour professor Flitwick"

"Ah good morning Miss Delacour, what can I help you with?" The small charms master enquired with a good natured smile on his face.

"I 'ave come to ask you if it would be possible excuse 'Arry Potter from his lessons today since his family will be here and he would be most upset if he didn't get to see them!"

Both Fleur and Professor Flitwick could practically see the sarcasm and double meaning in her question, but he had anticipated something like this since he had noted that Michael Potter hadn't even blinked when he had been told by Professor McGonagall that for Harry to have the day off as well he would have to specifically ask about it which he hadn't.

"Well Miss Delacour I'm fairly certain that one day of missed lessons won't be detrimental to Mr Potter's schoolwork so if you just give me a minute to write him a note excusing him from lessons and let me inform my colleagues of this then I'll allow him to be excused."

Professor then conjured some parchment as well as a quill and ink to write the note before duplicating it and sending it to the other professors at the head table so that they were aware of the change before he turned back to Fleur and handing the original note to her.

"Zank you Professor Flitwick"

"It's no problem Miss Delacour and I'm fairly certain that Mr Potter would like the opportunity to meet his potential future in laws as well!" Professor Flitwick answered with a slight smirk on his face that made Fleur both blush and feel a warm feeling inside that the professor thought that her relationship with Harry was already reaching that stage, and the fact that someone else had sussed the hidden reason as to why she wanted Harry out of lessons that day.

Heading back to the Ravenclaw table Fleur slipped back into her seat next to Harry who had a questioning look on his face at what had just happened. With a smile on her face she let him in on what had just transpired.

"It would appear zat you 'ave a note excusing you from lessons today Mr Potter. Something about seeing your family and mine!"

Harry's face lit up at what Fleur told him as he had been trying to figure out a way to tell Fleur that he would have to be in lessons that day and would only be able to see her and her family during meal times and right before the Third task.

"Thank you Fleur, it really means a lot that you would do..." Harry trailed off when he noticed the evil smirk that was on the face of his Girlfriend which immediately set the alarm bells off in his head.

"You may 'ave zis note Monsieur Potter if you agree to be introduced to my father as my Boyfriend and not just as a friend!" Fleur replied, enjoying the look on Harry's face.

"I thought you wanted for me to spend the day with you and your family, not for me to be murdered by your enraged father! Please, I'm too young to die!" Harry pleaded with the best puppy dog look he could manage.

Fleur laughed at the look Harry was giving her along with the batting on his eyelashes that just added to the comic effect before she put him out of his misery.

"You shall be quite safe 'Arry even my father wouldn't risk the wrath of my Veela form if he tried to 'arm you in any way."

As the other students started to make their ways off to classes the other champions headed off to a chamber just off the hall where their families had gathered. As they stepped through the threshold of the chamber's door they immediately saw Cedric and Viktor's families greeting their respective sons with looks of glowing pride upon their faces that their children were Triwizard champions.

However their attention was quickly drawn away from them as Fleur was being called from across the chamber by what Harry assumed were her mother and father. Fleur's parents had been somewhat of a mystery to Harry up until this point in time as although Fleur had talked about them somewhat she hadn't talked about what they looked like which had left Harry a little puzzled, but now he understood. From what Fleur had told him he knew that her mother, Apolline Delacour was a warm, caring woman once you got to know her, but due to the bigotry she faced by many in the wizarding world she tried to remain detached from people by putting up an ice queen persona. Fleur father was also not entirely what he had been expecting, although he was handsome in an older gentleman sort of way Harry noticed that Sebastian Delacour had a few long scars down one of his cheeks, which left Harry wondering how he had gotten them.

Harry was trying to think of the best way to introduce himself to Fleur's parents but he realised he was about to be thrown in at the deep end as Fleur had a rather mischievous grin on her face that did not bode well for Harry's survival instincts.

"Maman, Papa, I would like to introduce someone very important to me. Zis is my boyfriend 'Arry Potter."

The effect was instantaneous as Fleur's mother looked at Harry critically whilst Fleur's father had a look of that told of untold horrors and punishment if he found out that Harry had done anything to harm his daughter or if he found Harry to not be worthy of his daughter. Harry steeled himself before he tried to make a good impression.

"Madam Delacour, Monsieur Delacour. It's an honour to meet you both." This was accompanied by Harry lightly kissing Mrs Delacour's hand and shaking Mr Delacour's hand as was expected in pureblood customs and etiquette. This seemed to gain a little bit of respect from both of Fleur's parents that he should know how to conduct formal introductions.

"So Monsieur Potter, what makes you zink zat you are good enough to date my daughter?" This came from Mr Delacour along with a rather critical glare at Harry.

"I don't Monsieur Delacour, I am merely thankful that she is willing to lower herself to date someone that does not deserve to be with someone as beautiful both inside and out as her." Harry replied.

 **"Ooh he's very good!"** Came from the little girl who stood next to Mrs Delacour who Harry hadn't seen up until this point as she had been hiding behind her mother's leg, but he realised must be Fleur's sister Gabrielle.

 **"That he is my dear, but I think papa will make him sweat a while longer before he drops the act."** Mrs Delacour replied.

 **"You mean he is only acting?"** The young girl asked, confused by what her mother was telling her.

Mrs Delacour smiled at her daughter's naivety to the world of making the significant other of a parents child sweat a little to make sure they were worthy of their child before they welcomed them more warmly. **"Yes Mon Cherie, Papa is only making sure that Harry is right for Fleur, although I believe that she has chosen well. I have a rather strong passive allure and he hasn't even blinked once at it!"**

Harry had expected the interrogation from Fleur's father as he had once heard from Sirius that it was a rite of passage of all men that they faced with the father's of their girlfriends that their worthiness be tested. How Sirius knew this was anyone's guess as Sirius didn't have any children and he had never got to that stage with any of his relationships, although if he had he was keeping it very quiet.

However what Harry found entertaining was the byplay between Fleur's mother and sister as they discussed whether or not he was doing well. Harry had secretly been learning French ever since he and Fleur had started dating as he knew that meeting her parents might well be on the cards in the future and so he had wanted to make a good impression, he was only waiting for a good time to reveal that he had understood every word that Apolline and Gabrielle had been saying.

This fact alone was probably going to leave them speechless as he had only been learning for a few months but for some reason like learning magic, Harry had found learning a new language surprisingly easy and was tempted to start learning others as well to see if he found learning all languages easy.

This opportune moment was stolen away however by the sudden interjection of one James Potter and his other son, Michael Potter.

"So Michael this is the girl who said no to you is it?" James Potter asked with stern displeasure directed at Fleur in his voice.

"Yeah that's the one dad, she's all but enthralled Harry!" Michael responded with a slight smirk on his face that neither of his parents could see.

At Michael's words Mr Delacour spun round to face the two men that were slandering his daughter in such a manner.

"Excuse me Monsieur Potter, but I find your comments extremely rude! Please stop at once."

Harry noticed how Mr Delacour's French accent that had once been rather thick was now almost none existent and he wondered whether it had been part of his interrogation act all along.

"And you are?" Lily Potter replied rather disdainfully in a manner that suggested she didn't really care who he was.

"I Madam, am Auror Captain Sebastian Jacques Delacour, and your husband and son have been making some rather distasteful remarks about my daughter!" Mr Delacour replied with some steel in his voice.

James Potter paled slightly as he knew that offending a foreign law enforcement official who was not only part of the French Wizengamot, but also a close friend to the French Minister for Magic would not be a wise course of action.

"My apologies for my past comments as well as any by my son Monsieur Delacour it will not happen again." James Potter said solemnly hoping that Michael would take the hint and not say anymore to the Delacours or about them at least while they were in earshot.

Harry could have laughed at the dumbfounded expression on his brother's face if he wasn't so nervous about making a good impression with Fleur's parents, but he knew that Michael wasn't used to being told no or being told to stop doing something.

It looked like everything was going to be alright even with the brief interruption by the rest of Harry's family but suddenly Lily Potter noticed that Harry was standing alongside Fleur with their hands almost touching.

"What are you doing here Harry? Shouldn't you be in class?" She asked with less concern in her tone that one might have expected from the mother of the child she believed was cutting class.

"Yes why are you here Harry, I thought that Minerva had said that sibling's weren't allowed out of lessons even if it was the final task of the Triwizard tournament." This came from James Potter who had also only just noticed that his other son was currently in the room.

Harry scowled at their words but replied anyway. "Is that what Michael told you? I guess he must have forgotten to mention that I would have been allowed out of lessons today if he had specifically asked for me to be."

"Your brother must have made a mistake is all Harry you know that." James Potter responded rather dismissively. "However since Michael didn't request your presence outside of lessons, how are you here and not being in trouble for it?"

At this moment Fleur stepped forward to take on Harry's parents where she could see that Harry didn't want to say the wrong thing in front of her parents as he was trying to make a good first impression on them.

" 'Arry is out of lessons, because I asked for 'im to be excused for the day!" Fleur said rather more loudly than she would have liked to, but she wanted to get her point across.

"Why would you want to get one of our sons out of lessons for the day, it could hurt his grades." Lily Potter said rather stiffly while trying to maintain the image of a good parent even while a small voice in the back of her head was reminding her that she had no idea what Harry's grades were as she had never bothered to ask him.

Apolline and Sebastian had small knowing smiles on their faces as they watched Fleur confront her boyfriend's parents. They knew that she was serious about him as they didn't believe that she would have confronted them so openly if she didn't care deeply about Harry. They were also looking forward to the moment when it was revealed that Harry was Fleur's boyfriend as they were certain that James and Lily Potter's minds might snap at the thought that the son they had almost completely ignored while they lavished attention on their celebrity son, was now in a relationship with a beautiful older girl who not only loved him, but was also a Veela. Normally they didn't make being a Veela big thing since both Apolline and Gabrielle were also Veela, but they knew how male minds worked, especially teenage boy minds and they were relishing the opportunity for Fleur to have such a relationship with someone that was built upon mutual love and respect rather than fame or Fleur's Veela abilities.

" I 'ave asked for 'is presence 'ere as I wished to introduced my parents to my boyfriend!" Fleur replied rather haughtily "And 'Arry's grades are not going to suffer from one day since 'e is almost top in all of 'is classes!"

Harry was fairly certain that Snape and Filch could have been in front of the other Potter's naked and dancing the can-can together and they would still not have broken the trance that had been placed upon the two else Potters at Fleur's declaration of being in a relationship with him. It was also at this moment that a much more welcome face made his appearance in the chamber.

"Hey folks I hope I'm not too late, I got held up at the Three Broomsticks!"

"Hey Sirius, it's good to see you and no you're not late yet. We're still getting the introductions out of the way." Harry was first to reply even though he was slightly wary that Sirius might have before he arrived; 'Solemnly sworn he was up to no good'.

At Sirius's arrival Lily Potter seemed to get her voice back; "Sirius did you know that Harry was dating an older woman?" She asked trying to discreetly keep the disapproval out of her voice.

"Knew? I was the one who gave him the push to go for her if she felt the same way that he did. Not only that but I was the one who received a bottle of Fire whiskey after my books and advice helped so much!" Sirius emphasised about the Fire Whiskey in such a way that you would have thought that Sirius didn't receive any gifts at Christmas and Harry's was the first he had received and was over the moon about it.

Sirius's actions had caused both Harry and Fleur to start grinning and well as eliciting a slight giggle from Gabrielle who was watching from behind her mother's leg as if Sirius was some sort of weird play.

"What do you mean you already know? Did you not think that something like this warranted telling us as Harry's parents?" Came the outraged response from Lily Potter who seemed to building up to a massive eruption.

Sirius's face darkened slightly at Lily Potter's words and he was clearly holding back in his answer to her; "Really Lily? When have you and James ever cared all that much about what Harry got up to at school as long as he hadn't killed anyone or gotten expelled. Now suddenly you care about who he dating, most likely because she completely rejected Michael when he tried to ask her out."

"That's not it at all Sirius. We saw the articles in the Daily Prophet, how do we know that Harry's not simply entranced by her allure?" This time the question was being asked by James Potter who seemed to have found his voice again finally.

All of the Delacour family as well as Harry scowled and glared at James Potter at what he was insinuating, but Sirius cut off any response that they were about to formulate with a gesture that said to let him handle it as he still had some things he would like to say to his former friends.

"Really Prongs? You really need to ask that, do you not remember anything at all from school or did your blindness towards one of your sons also make you stupider? You full well know the symptoms of being enthralled by Veela allure; dulled response times, vacant expression, glazed over eyes and the need to impress said Veela. Harry is doing none of these things nor is he showing any of those symptoms, if anything Harry is one of the most resistant I have ever seen.

James Potter had growled slightly at Sirius calling him stupid, but he remained quiet as he knew that Sirius was right about Harry not showing any of the known signs of being under a Veela's allure. However seeing that his father wasn't going to speak at this point, Michael Potter decided to speak up in an attempt to sow some doubt in his parent's and Sirius's minds.

"What about when Harry sang to Fleur in front of the entire Great Hall at lunch that one time. That could be counted as an action of wanting to impress her and he certainly seemed to have rather glazed over eyes at the time."

Both Lily and James Potter looked concerned at what Michael was telling them, but before they could say anything they were beaten to it by Harry who was looking at his twin sibling with something close to hate in his eyes.

"Actually in that incident Fleur had very little to do with it. That was a prank courtesy of the Weasley Twins after I received a certain letter from you Sirius. " Here Harry turned to mock glare at Sirius who simply grinned at the memory that he had of writing that particular letter and chuckling to himself at what Harry and Fleur's reaction to it might be. "All Fleur did was make sure that I drank from the cup that they had spiked with one of their special powders."

"Fine then, Harry isn't under Miss Delacour's allure, but I for one would like to know why she rejected Michael in such a way?" Lily Potter asked with her motherly side in full flare over fighting for Michael.

Harry looked critically at his twin trying to see if there was any clue to what he might have said to their parents that would make them fight for him so strongly in this manner, even when it was clear that Harry was in a relationship with Fleur so Michael dating her was out of the question.

"What has my brother been telling you about what has been going on here? What lies has he been telling about his own actions towards Fleur?" Harry countered with a slight harshness in his voice.

Here James Potter made himself known again as he suddenly burst into the conversation; "Harry James Potter you will not speak of your brother in such a manner! Michael told us about how he was only trying to welcome Miss Delacour and her friend to the castle only for it to be thrown back in his face as they not only tried to jinx him for their own amusement, but that Miss Delacour used her allure to humiliate Michael!"

Harry's eyes flashed brightly green with rage that made some of the adults step back a little bit as he tried to get his words out while his rage threatened to consume him. "Is that what lies he has been telling now? How about you tell them what really happened when Fleur first arrived at Hogwarts Michael? Why don't you tell everyone here about how you touched her inappropriately or how you and your lackeys tried to chat up Aurelia only to fail miserably when you found out that despite knowing who you are, that she wanted nothing to do with you!"

Harry's words caused a multitude of reactions that ranged from Michael Potter's shock to James and Lily Potter's torn expressions between wanting to reprimand Harry for speaking in such a way and punishing Michael for disrespecting women in such a way. However Michael Potter should have been more worried about what Fleur's parents were going to do after hearing what Harry had had to say on the matter as now there was something close to cold rage in Sebastian Delacour's eyes which was mirrored in Apolline Delacour's eyes as well at the shameful way Michael Potter had treated their eldest daughter simply because he was the Boy-Who-Lived and believed that the normal rules and traditions of how to behave didn't apply to him.

Finally there was Sirius who was visibly angry at what one of his godsons had done, but if you looked past the obvious anger you could also see disappointment there as well. This disappointment was due to he saw how much his ex best friends had not taught one of their sons about what good manners were and how to act around people. He was disappointed in Michael Potter as he could still remember a bright albeit slightly bratty five year old who had such ideas of what he was going to be when he was older, but that child had all but vanished under the Boy-Who-Lived's shadow as he decided to use his name to get what he wanted much like Draco Malfoy would.

Seeing as how Michael Potter was not going to be forthcoming with any details James and Lily Potter quickly hurried him out of the chamber without so much as a goodbye. They were heckled at somewhat by Cedric Diggory's father Amos, who was rather put out that after his son being named Triwizard champion for Hogwarts, Michael Potter then had to come in and steal some of that spotlight.

"I am sorry that you had to witness that, but they have all had that coming for a long time." Sirius said in a rather resigned manner.

"It is alright Monsieur Black they did deserve it as you said, but I would have thought you would have defended your friends?" Sebastian Delacour replied with most of his steely tone gone with the departure of the other Potters.

"They were my friends once but no friends of mine would have treated Harry the way that they did and still do. Until they change and see what they have done and will continue to do is wrong then we have very little to say to each other even if I considered James Potter my brother in the past and I saw Lily Potter as a Sister. Now they are just strangers to me." Sirius answered quietly and for one of the first times in years Harry saw how much the loss of his two close friends had affected Sirius and he couldn't stop his heart going out to him even if he had wanted to.

"Anyway let's get back to more pleasant matters Monsieur Delacour. I believe you were interrogating my Godson about his nerve to date your daughter if I'm not mistaken." Sirius continued with a rather sly grin tucked in one corner of his mouth.

Harry mouthed 'Traitor' at him to which Sirius simply smirked and winked at him. Harry steeled himself before he decided that now would be a good a time as ever to reveal that he understood and spoke French.

 **"Mr Delacour I stand by my previous statements. I love your daughter with all my heart and in the impossible situation that I ever willing hurt her I will come and find you so that you can kill me for the grave wrongs I would have committed. "**

The entire Delacour family and Sirius looked at Harry in shock at him speaking to Mr Delacour not only in his own language but fluently as well like Harry had been speaking it his whole life. Harry noted that there was even more respect showing in both of Fleur's parent's eyes at him learning to speak French without having to be prompted to do so. The most visible reaction though was Fleur who was gazing at Harry with a bright smile and something deeper in her eyes as well that Harry couldn't place but sent shivers up his spine and not in a bad way.

"How long have you been learning French Mr Potter?" Mr Delacour asked with genuine curiosity in his tone.

"Since just after the first task Monsieur Delacour." Harry answered simply.

"Then I must congratulate you for learning to speak so fluently in such a short space of time despite how young you are. Now enough of this charade, from how Fleur looked at you when you two entered the room we were fairly certain you were more than just good friends and we whole heartedly agree with your relationship. I can see that you are almost completely immune to the passive and concentrated Veela allure and almost that alone makes you worthy enough, but seeing my daughter so happy makes you worthy of her in my eyes."

Harry let out a breath that he hadn't realised he had been holding when he heard that Monsieur Delacour approved of his relationship with Fleur. Harry had been slightly afraid that he might threaten him to stop dating Fleur if he had disapproved of him and Harry wasn't sure that he would be able to comply if that had been the case.

"Now pup what's this I hear about you serenading your lady love in the Great Hall?" Sirius chipped in with his grin still in full effect on his face.

Harry turned bright red and started spluttering at Sirius's question before he was stopped short and felt shivers that were definitely tingling his survival instincts that were currently yelling at him to run at the playful smirk on Fleur's face.

"Ah Monsieur Black it was the stuff of fairy tales. 'Arry knelt before me and serenaded to me just 'ow much 'e loved me without a care in the world that 'e was in the middle of the Great 'all at lunch time. I 'ave never 'ad a man do something like that for me before and he almost caused me to faint!" Fleur finished rather dramatically to the general laughter of those gathered.

Harry burned if possible and even brighter red whilst muttering about evil but beautiful girlfriends that were out to embarrass him as much as his Godfather was. They were all still chuckling slightly as Harry led them out of the room with Sirius by his side to give the Delacours a tour of Hogwarts before the Third task started in the early evening.


	12. Chapter 12: The Third Task

**A.N/ Some T finally got around to writing this chapter again. In my defense I have been busy and I had writers block that made it impossible to write anything on thos story.**

Chapter 12: The Third Task

The tour of Hogwarts had taken up most of the morning as there was a lot that Harry and Fleur wanted to show Sebastian, Apolline and Gabrielle Delacour which included the classroom that they had been using to train Fleur for the Third task in along with Cedric and Viktor. They also made a point to show them the Room of Requirement on their tour as they felt that they should show off the incredible room as it held such powerful memories for both Harry and Fleur, although the same could be said for Sirius when he saw the Room he got a rather covert grin on his face that when questioned about he would simply chuckle and change topics. Harry was certain that Sirius had done either the planning for some amazing prank in this room or he had been adding to his reputation as a ladies' man in this room, but that was not something that Harry particularly wanted to think about, ever.

At lunchtime the group headed back down towards the Great Hall as Gabrielle was complaining about being hungry and her feet hurt from walking so much, so Sebastian picked her up and carried her downstairs. Fleur broke off from the main group in order to visit the bathroom before she to would go down for lunch, however as she was walking down the corridor after visiting the bathroom she almost walked into a tall, red haired man who had not been entirely paying that much attention to where he was going.

"Ah my apologies madam, I wasn't looking where I was going." Came from the red haired man as he realised he had almost walked into her.

"Apology accepted monsieur, now if you'll excuse me I am late for lunch." Fleur replied politely.

"Ah seems we were of a similar mind Miss..?" He replied looking questioningly at her. "Delacour. Fleur Delacour." Fleur told him simply.

"Enchante, Madam Delacour. My name is William Weasley or Bill for short. I heard that you are the champion for Beauxbatons and that you are doing quite well." Bill Weasley replied rather earnestly.

"Zank you Monsieur Weasley I am simply doing my best and I 'ope to win, but both Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum are strong competition so it is difficult to say." Fleur said with some pride in her voice when she spoke of her own accomplishments and respect when speaking about Viktor and Cedric.

"You are too modest Madam Delacour, however it is good to see that you are both attractive inside and out."

It was at this point that Fleur realised that despite Bill Weasley being rather less susceptible to her passive allure than the average male specimen, he was still being somewhat affected by it as he was being slightly more forward than most men would be with his flirting than most men would be. It was also this flirting that continued for several more minutes as they drew closer to the Great Hall with Fleur still trying to be polite, but firm in her answers.

"After the tournament has concluded, would you like to go somewhere for dinner say in Hogsmeade?" Bill asked after several more minutes of flirting with Fleur.

"No zank you Bill, I am already seeing someone so zat would be rather inappropriate." Fleur replied in a polite tone, but with a hint of steel in it to try and get him to stop trying to flirt with her.

However it didn't produce the desired effect of Bill apologising and ceasing his attempts to flirt with her, instead he formed a rather knowing grin on his face that seemed to say that he didn't believe her about Fleur being in a relationship already and that she was just playing hard to get so that she could gauge whether or Bill would be worthy of her if he would put the effort in to chase her.

"If you say so, Miss Delacour, but if you change your mind then I will be around for at least the next few days." Bill responded with as much charm as he could muster being placed into his words as he broke off from her as they entered the Great Hall with him heading for the Gryffindor table and Fleur heading for the Ravenclaw table.

Fleur could still feel his eyes on her as she looked for her parents and Harry, who she spotted roughly half way down the table engaged in conversation whilst they ate their lunch. Fleur had already made up her mind that she needed to prove to Bill Weasley that she was already taken and that she was not just deflecting him. However she did feel like being slightly vindictive with how she proved to him that she was in a relationship as he had been flirting with her incessantly even though she was giving off no signs that she was more receptive to his flirting than to accept compliments. Fleur could see that Harry wasn't eating currently and he had looked up to see her making her way down to where they were seated and his face lit up in a smile at seeing her and in that instant she made her decision about what to do.

As Fleur drew level with Harry she placed a hand on his shoulder that made him turn round and start to stand up which was when Fleur put her plan into action. As Harry was half way up she linked her arms around his waist and pulled him in for a kiss that would make people start to question if either of the pair was going to die from lack of oxygen soon. After breaking the kiss with a rather dazed, but grinning Harry and ignoring the whistles and cat calls that were coming from around them, Fleur covertly glanced over at where Bill Weasley was sitting with what looked like most of his siblings with a look of crushed disappointment at finding out that Fleur had been telling the truth and possibly some anger at Harry that he was in a relationship already with the young woman that he himself wanted to date.

While this had been happening both Fleur's parents and Sirius had been busy covertly looking over at Bill Weasley who they had noticed had entered the hall at the same time as Fleur with a rather pleased expression on his face. They then noted that as soon as Fleur pulled Harry into a kiss his expression changed first to shock followed by sadness which was then replaced briefly with anger that was directed towards Harry even though Harry had no idea who Bill Weasley was.

It was Sirius who first broke the silence between their group; "So Fleur is there any particular reason you decided to molest my Godson in public or did the need just overwhelm you?" He asked with mirth in both his tone and eyes at the spectacle that Fleur had knowingly created in her wake.

Fleur did blush slightly at Sirius' words but she answered him anyway. "Oui Sirius, It did serve a purpose. It was to show Monsieur Bill Weasley zat I am not just playing 'ard to get. I needed to show 'im zat I am already in a relationship and zat I am 'appy in my relationship."

During this conversation Harry had been grinning rather goofily with a rather dazed expression on his face and it took several times of Sirius calling his name for him to snap back out of his stupor.

"Ah now that you are back with us Harry, Do you by any chance know who it was that was hitting on your girlfriend?" Sirius asked.

Harry frowned briefly at the thought of someone flirting with Fleur even when she made it clear to them that she was not interested. He hated that about people that seemed to believe that her heritage made it ok for them to make advances on her even when she had previously said no as they would just claim that she was leading them on or had ensnared them with her allure.

"Well if the red hair is anything to go by and his age, I remember Michael mentioning something about the eldest Weasley sibling's name was William or Bill as he liked to be called. He also mentioned that he was in his late twenties and worked as a curse breaker for Gringotts bank which explains his rather different clothes to the rest of the adults here."

"Hmm" Sirius mused as he took in what Harry had just told him about the eldest Weasley sibling "It would make a lot of sense that he works as a curse breaker as they aren't exactly know for their subtlety when it comes to broadcasting who they are and who they work for. Most curse breakers are somewhat eccentric with how they dress and a lot of them believe themselves to be Merlin's gift to witches simply because they work in a dangerous environment which they believe makes them appear more exotic. If anything from what my cousin Nymphadora has told me it just makes them come off as conceited and arrogant."

"So he would get on well with my brother then?" Harry quipped once Sirius was done explaining what he knew about curse breakers.

Sirius gave Harry a pointed look but he didn't correct him about Bill Weasley getting on well with Michael Potter as he would be lying to himself if he didn't see the similarities between the two rather arrogant wizards.

"Well let's just hope that Fleur has sent a strong enough message to him with her actions earlier." Sebastian Delacour chose this moment to re-enter the conversation as he saw Harry and Sirius' conversation winding down somewhat.

"If not then I'm sure that Harry would be up for a repeat performance if Bill Weasley is rather slow on the uptake. Then again if Bill Weasley is slow on the uptake it might well be Harry's dream scenario as Fleur might have to get even more extreme each time with how she goes about showing him her relationship. I wonder if she might make it extra pleasurable so that wherever Bill Weasley was at the time he would be able to hear them." Sirius finished with a rather dog like grin on his face as he looked on at the heavily red faces of both Harry and Fleur.

Their faces were red for different reasons though as Harry's face was red due to what Sirius had been implying and Harry was fairly sure that Sirius had been implying that he and Fleur would be having sex and like all boys he had thought about what it might be like. Fleur was blushing as she had been planning to take that step with Harry later on during the summer if possible after Harry had turned fifteen assuming that they were both ready for that next step as due to the rather outdated laws in the wizarding world that still heavily favoured wizards over witches, it would be completely legal for Harry to have sex once he was over the age of fifteen.

Once both Harry and Fleur had regained enough composure they led the group back to the Room of Requirement in order to have a private space in order for them to spend time together so that Harry could get to know Sebastian and Apolline Delacour better than what he had learnt about them from Fleur. Towards the end of the afternoon they were joined by Aurelia and Cedric as well as Viktor and his girlfriend Sophie who wanted to have one last gathering as friends before the third task took place.

Sebastian and Apolline Delacour were happy to meet Cedric as they had heard from Fleur that Aurelia had suffered almost as much as Fleur herself had for many years due to boys and sometimes even men wanting to get close to her for their own selfish reasons that did not factor in what Aurelia might want at all. However within minutes of meeting Cedric they knew that Aurelia and Cedric shared an almost unique bond due to her previous troubles and his past girlfriend not being who he thought she was that meant they both wanted to try and be open and honest with the other as otherwise it would just lead to a similar situation that they had encountered before. Both the elder Delacours could see that Aurelia and Cedric loved each other deeply despite the fact that they had only met several months previously, but they felt as if they had known each other for years before they started dating.

However in contrast to this they were surprised that all of the true champions were friendly with each other as they had suspected that Viktor Krum might be rather anti-social towards the other champions if not downright hostile so they were pleasantly surprised to see Fleur, Cedric and Aurelia greet Viktor as a close friend as well as greeting his girlfriend Sophie who they learnt had been an friend of Cedric's before he introduced them to each other. Some of the anxiety over their daughter's status as what many believed to be a part Veela were lifted when they saw her conversing so freely with other young men her own age and girls who weren't Aurelia. This made them feel truly happy as they had always feared that due to the prejudice that many in the wizarding world had against Veela, that their eldest daughter would have little to no social interaction or friends, but their fears were cast down by what they saw in front of their very eyes.

Harry and Fleur reconvened with the other Delacours and Sirius for dinner, even if Fleur was feeling rather anxious, she knew that she would need her strength for what would most likely be the toughest of all the tasks. This being said Fleur was only able to stomach a light meal as was Harry who was obviously concerned as to what Fleur would be facing that evening. All too soon Professor Dumbledore stood to announce that all champions should make their way down to the starting arena for the first task to which all four champions stood to thunderous applause from the surrounding students, staff and others who had showed up for the final task.

Fleur pulled Harry up with her as she left so that they could have a few minutes of solitude without anyone else potentially interrupting them as they walked slowly towards the arena. Fleur noticed that Harry was exceptionally quiet on the walk down and she called him out on it.

"What is it 'Arry, you 'ave barely said a word since we left the great 'all?"

Harry stopped and turned to face her with worry showing up as his dominant expression; "I'm just worried Fleur about this task. We have no idea what sort of creatures or magic you'll need to overcome, but I heard Hagrid has supplied some of the creatures and that means they're unlikely to be nifflers. Then there's the fact that you will be in there with only the other champions for human company and whilst I know that neither Cedric nor Viktor would hurt anyone else to win the cup, I don't trust Michael to not try cursing you in the back to win, even if it put you in harm's way."

Fleur felt a pang in her heart as she heard Harry pour out his feelings and worries for her safety, something she was still unused to after so many years of men and boys not caring about her safety except for her father , but she still felt a warmth that she had never felt before at his concern. Fleur pulled Harry into a close embrace and they stayed there silent for a few moments before she started to speak.

"You 'ave no idea 'ow much it means to me for you to be worried about my safety. For years boys and men were only interested in one thing even if meant putting me in danger, but we trained for zis and I am ready."

Harry looked slightly surprised at her words and some amount of empathy at her never having had any males care about her safety other than her father and now him, but he knew that Fleur was right. She was ready and she now needed people to believe in her so that she could claim victory. So they walked in a comfortable silence just enjoying the close proximity of the other's presence. At the entrance to the arena they parted with one final toe curling kiss and Harry went to find the Delacours and Sirius in the stands. It was a mark of how much Sirius knew that Harry was worried for Fleur that he didn't make any sort of joke or innuendo at how long it had taken for Harry to leave Fleur's side.

The arena slowly started to populate, but soon all of Hogwarts was down in the stands chatting noisily about the task that was about to unfold, but they were all suddenly silenced when the judges made their way into the centre of the arena in front of the entrance to the maze.

"Welcome to the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Came the magically enhanced voice of Ludo Bagman who still as ever seemed over excited, but Harry thought that it looked a little forced as the man seemed to be nervous about something.

"Introducing our four champions in case some present tonight do not know who they are will be in ascending order from fourth place through to first. Currently in fourth place and representing Hogwarts we have Cedric Diggory!" This was met with thunderous applause from the stands that contained the Hufflepuff students with less extreme reactions coming from the remaining three houses, although Amos Diggory, Cedric's father, could be heard yelling proudly; 'That's my son!'.

"In third place and representing Beauxbatons we have Fleur Delacour!" Fleur entered the arena to a less exuberant welcome than Cedric but she was pleased to note that a large majority of the cheering was coming from where her family, Sirius and Aurelia were. However she did note that a number of boys and men were cheering for her which she had expected as they were the types that would do anything for her attention, even when she had made it clear she was not interested in them at all.

"In second place and representing Durmstrang we have the renowned seeker Viktor Krum!" Viktor's entrance was again met with thunderous applause and cheering, with some of the crowd resurrecting that tribal chant of his surname that they had used to cheer him on in the first task.

"And now last but not least we have our champion in first place and representing Hogwarts as well Michael Potter!" Unlike all the other champions when Michael Potter emerged he was greeted by cheers from most of the Gryffindors and some of the Ravenclaws, but he was also met with booing from the Slytherin students and the Hufflepuffs who still felt that Michael Potter had cheated his way into first place.

"Now the champions shall enter the maze in their order of points placement with the next entering after two minutes as the champions as so close in points that only two minutes will pass between each champion entering the maze. The task will end when a champion reaches the Triwizard cup in the centre of the maze which will transport them back here where they will be crowned Triwizard champion. Whilst the task is underway several staff members will be patrolling the perimeter of the maze to make sure that everything is running as smoothly as possible. If any of the champions should find themselves in a situation that they deem to dangerous, or if they become too injured to continue with the task then they need only send up red sparks and they will be rescued from the task. However this will mean that you will have forfeited from the task and you will be disqualified."

At the sound of the first whistle Michael Potter set off at a run into the maze so that he could try and get as much lead as possible before the older and physically stronger champions were inside the maze. It was an agonizingly slow four minutes for Fleur, but she eventually heard the whistle that signalled she could start the task and she broke into a run as she entered the maze. Fleur soon cmae to a fork on the path and opting to take the right hand path she walked at a brisk pace, as she wanted to move quickly, but not tire too quickly.

As Fleur rounded a corner she heard the whistle being blown a fourth time and knew that now all four of the champions were inside the maze and competing. Another few corners later and she came across a strange looking creature that seemed to be a hybrid between a fire crab and a scorpion as it had pincers and a tail ending in a rather dangerous looking stinger. The creature also appeared to be armoured over most of its body which would make hitting it with offensive spells difficult, but Fleur was nothing if not intelligent as she wordlessly levitated the creature high enough for its un-armoured under body to become exposed before she hit it with a high powered stunner that knocked the creature out.

Fleur made haste to pass the strange creature before it might wake up as she had no idea if it had any form of magical resistance that might mean it would only be stunned for a short time. It was several corners and a few dead ends that had Fleur retracing her steps later when she rounded a corner to see two raven haired boys locked in a fierce duel. Fleur could see that one had green eyes and the other hazel and realised that she was seeing Harry and his brother Michael, but this didn't make any sense as Harry should have been outside the maze with her family not in here duelling with his brother.

Fleur was ripped from her thoughts as she heard Michael Potter speak words she never wanted to face head on.

"Avada Kedavra!" He spat at his brother with a cruel smirk twisting on his lips.

Fleur screamed out trying to summon up some sort of barrier to protect Harry but she was too late and the sickly green light slammed into Harry knocking him off his feet and causing him to slam into the ground face up with a glassy look in his know dead eyes. Fleur's brain refused to accept what had just happened as she lost the strength in her legs and was forced to kneel next to the body of Harry Potter.

"You thought I'd just let you go did you? You belong to me Veela!" Came a voice from behind Fleur and she turned round to see Michael Potter still standing there with an insane smile on his face and his wand pointed right at her.

"Non, I'd rather die zan be with you!" Fleur shouted at Michael Potter through her tears.

The insane smile on Michael Potter's face became if possible even more twisted as he walked slowly towards her. "You might think that Veela, but even you're parents know that you're not anything more than a plaything for my entertainment. They signed a slave contract with my father that allows me to do anything to you and it will be completely legal!"

Fleur tried to deny that her parents would ever do such a thing, but the words died in her mouth as she saw her parents along with Gabrielle come round the corner and look at her with the utmost loathing and displeasure in their expressions.

"Why do you think we sent you to Beauxbatons at all Fleur? Did you really think that we cared about your education? No we simply wanted you to find someone to take you off our hands even if it was to be a pureblood in a slave contract as we knew that any pureblood lord would pay handsomely for a Veela plaything lie you." Came the icy cold tone of Fleur's father that seemed to make Fleur shrink in size until she was nothing but a small girl once more.

"Did you ever realise how boring and whiny you were year after year at that school?" This came from her mother who was looking down at the tearful girl disdainfully; "Oh poor Fleur can't make any real friends because of her allure. Poor princess Fleur has young men vying for her attentions, but she shuts all them down and she wonders why they call her a frigid bitch. Little flower fears that she will never find true love. So pathetic you are Fleur, I am ashamed to have to call you my daughter!"

Fleur was trying to make sense of what was happening but the onslaught of her family and the hated other Potter boy who had killed her Harry made it impossible for Fleur to think clearly and she was just about ready to send up red sparks when she heard a shouted spell behind her and what she thought was her family and Michael Potter suddenly burst into wisps of smoke and disappeared. Looking round to where Harry's body had been she saw nothing but the grass that wasn't even disturbed.

"It was a Boggart Fleur, nothing more. What you saw wasn't real!" Fleur realised that it was Cedric who had crouched down next to her and was trying to console her. Fleur just felt silly that such a low level creature had almost bested her.

"Some champion I am if a simple Boggart can beat me!" Fleur bit out without any real venom as she was just happy that what she had seen wasn't real.

"Hey the primary function of a Boggart is to make you see what you fear most of all. From what I could see of the scene before I banished it I can imagine that it was something horrifying that you fear most. It lured you in and played your darkest fears in front of you, you shouldn't be ashamed that you felt some weakness, you're only human after all."

"Zank you Cedric, I zink that I will be able to continue for a while longer."

"That's the spirit!"

The two champions continued on down the path for a few minutes before they came to a fork and with one final nod to each other they went in separate directions. Fleur encountered nothing along this path which was making her paranoid that the maze was lulling her into a false sense of security that would make her lower her guard before something attempted to attack her. It turned out that she was right to keep up her guard as suddenly she was knocked off her feet by a blasting curse. Fleur shielded herself so that she could regain her feet and was shocked to see Viktor bearing down on her with his wand pointing straight at her. However she could also see that his eyes were rather cloudy and he was also moving rather awkwardly like he was under an Imperius curse. Fleur didn't get long to study this though as Viktor sent red sparks into the air before he broke her shield with an exceptionally powerful stunner that caught her off guard.

It was an unknown amount of time later that Fleur awoke to the sights of the medical tent before she saw the Hogwarts matron Madam Pomfrey came into view with a potion vial.

"Here you go Miss Delacour this is a mild calming draught along with a pain numbing potion. You hit the ground rather hard when you fell."

"Is the task over, why did Viktor stun me?" Fleur asked hurriedly looking around for her family or Harry.

"No the task is not over yet Miss Delacour and I don't know why Mr Krum would have stunned you. You were found by Professor McGonagall under red sparks so one of your fellow champions must have found you. Now you will be fine once you have drunk the potion so do so and then you may go and find your family."

Fleur did as she was told by the healer and she felt almost immediately better as she felt a sense of calm and relief wash over her as she began to metabolise the potion. It seemed to be that there had been an announcement that she had been eliminated from the task as in the next compartment of the medical tent she found Harry, Sirius and her parents who had Gabrielle asleep next to them.

Harry was the first of them to notice that Fleur had entered their compartment of the tent and as such he was up and moving towards her long before the others had time to process and react to her presence. Harry stepped right up to Fleur and pulled her into a tight embrace in which Fleur could feel that he was shaking slightly but he seemed to become peaceful as he held her. It meant so much to Fleur that Harry had been so worried about her safety as it was something that was still quite unusual in her experience. However as her memories of the task were still rushing back she remembered the pain she had felt when she thought that Michael Potter had murdered Harry in order to take her as a slave and to see that Harry was alive and well let her mind rest at ease, even if she would now forever in some way be on guard around Michael Potter so that he never tried to do what she feared most.

"I was so scared when they announced that you were found unconscious and had been disqualified from the task. They refused to give us any information about if you were injured or not and they would not let any of us even your parents in to see you."

It took Fleur a few seconds to realise that it had been Harry who was talking as his voice was so quiet and slightly strained in a way that suggested that Harry had been either crying or had been close to when Fleur had arrived.

"Shh, no more talk of zat 'Arry. I am fine and I don't care about the tournament, it was proved to me in the second task zat it is no longer important to me, you are!"

Harry noticed that Sirius had given him a look and a leaving gesture as he left with the other Delacours to give Harry and Fleur some privacy in a moment when they just wanted to be close to each other.

"Ok Fleur, what do you want to do now?" Harry asked softly.

Fleur lead Harry over to the sofa that was in the room and pulled him into a half sitting down half lying down embrace.

"Just 'old me 'Arry, and stay here."

"Of course, whatever you want Fleur. I love you."

It took a few beats for Fleur to realise what Harry had just said, but she was filled with joy despite the events that had made him say the words she had longed to hear from a man all her life that wasn't shallow words. Harry realised what he had said and was just opening his mouth to try and salvage the situation, as he believed that it was too soon to be saying such things but it had just slipped out, so he was surprised when Fleur pressed a finger against his lips before kissing him softly on the lips.

"I love you to 'Arry."

Currently far away from Harry and Fleur was Cedric Diggory who had just been forced to stun Viktor Krum who had attempted to curse him in the back but had missed. Initially Cedric was horrified taht someone who he counted as a close friend who do such a thing, but he saw that Viktor's eyes were rather glassy and he didn't walk in his usual manner which screamed Imperius curse at Cedric. Using this information Cedric was able to dodge around Viktor due to his less heightened reaction times due to the curses side effects. Cedric then stunned Viktor before sending red sparks into the air so that Viktor could be rescued by one of the patrolling staff members.

As Cedric advanced towards what he hoped was the centre of the maze and the Triwizard cup he heard shouted spells coming from the last champion standing other than himself; Michael Potter. Running at full speed towards the sounds of spells and an odd clicking noise that Cedric couldn't place its origins he started to formulate a plan to get past whatever creature his fellow champion was fighting and potentially save Michael Potter from being injured. Cedric may have had a strong dislike for the younger boy, but he would not stoop so low to allow him to be grievously injured if he could have stopped it.

Coming round the final corner the sounds were amplified by ten as Cedric saw Michael Potter throwing spells at a vast Acromantula that appeared to be toying with Michael Potter as it didn't seem to be all that affected by the spells being cast at it, but it was walking very slowly towards the boy with its pincers clicking menacingly.

Assessing the situation quickly Cedric realised that they didn't have to kill the creature, just subdue it for long enough that they could bith get away from it safely. With a goal in mind Cedric started to fire blasting curses at the giant spider to get it to start retreating, the creature did but it made high pitched screaming sounds that sent a shiver down both champion's spines at its sound. Quickly though Michael Potter caught on to the spells that Cedric was casting at the Acromantula and between them they were able to drive the monstrous spider back and rush past it before it could recover enough to come after them.

Michael Potter nodded at Cedric as a way of thanking him for saving him from the Acromantula which Cedric didn't protest against as he knew that he was probably one of very few people that had ever received a thank you in any form from the arrogant 'Boy-Who-Lived'. They proceeded down the single path in front of them until they came into a clearing where they could clearly see the trophy in front of them.

Cedric turned to Michael Potter with an idea so that they could both get out of the maze and still both win; "Since we are both here and I'm fairly sure that you don't want to fight me to take the cup, why don't we both take it so that we tie and its a joint victory for Hogwarts?"

Michael Potter nodded silently which made Cedric relax slightly that after everything they would have an easy end to the most draining of all the tasks so Cedric started to walk towards the cup when suddenly he heard Michael Potter speak behind him.

"Hogwarts only has one champion."

We that Cedric heard the words 'Petrificus Totalus' being spoken and before he could react his arms and legs snapped together immobilising him. As Cedric fell over he saw Michael Potter shoot red sparks into the air above them before smirking smugly at Cedric before he grabbed the Triwizard cup that activated immediately vanishing both Michael Potter and the Triwizard cup.


	13. Chapter 13: The Long Summer Part 1

Chapter 13: The Long Summer Part 1

If Harry was to describe his current emotions in one word it would have to be bored. Bored of being confined to Potter Manor with his brother and parents as James Potter had gone to Def-Con 2 immediately after the Third Task, which meant that only certain people were allowed to Floo in and any that did were questioned so that they could prove they were who they appeared to be. Harry had fleetingly had the amusing thought to install flashing red lights and sirens whenever his brother and parents got especially jumpy just to hammer home the lockdown that had been put in effect. For Harry this meant that his only way of contacting both Sirius and Fleur was via Owl post, which strangely hadn't been blocked. In reality Harry thought that neither of his parents would have thought that he would be sending any letters over the summer since he didn't have an owl of his own and had to borrow school owls whenever he needed to contact Sirius when he was at Hogwarts.

However this oversight lead to Sirius sending a worried letter a few weeks into the summer holiday enquiring as to why he hadn't heard from Harry and whether or not Harry wished to continue working for Sirius as an assistant in one of the companies owned by the Black family to allow Harry some spending money as he knew that Harry would be stubborn about Sirius just offering him some money from the vast Black fortune as he wanted to make his own way unlike his spoiled brat brother.

This also allowed Harry to open a line of communication to Fleur as Sirius had passed on the message that Potter Manor was on lock down and Harry wouldn't be able to Floo to Delacour Manor or allow Fleur to Floo to Potter Manor. This meant that they had to continue their relationship through letter which was something but it couldn't fill the space of actually being able to see and touch each other. Since Harry had already finished the work set by his Professors for the summer break in the first few days so that he could then just relax for the rest of the time he had to find something to do as it was clear that he wouldn't be working for Sirius either over the summer.

It had taken several days of looking at things to do before Harry had found something to occupy at least some hours each day. It had been completely by accident that Harry had seen a magazine of Lily Potter's that had been opened at a section that apparently had all the answers to what witches found most attractive in a wizard as answered by the public. Harry had skim read the article as he normally didn't think anything of these articles that would press most average men to attain standards that they couldn't achieve without serious effort on their part and Harry knew that most wizards aside from Quidditch players were notoriously lazy.

However his curiosity got the better of him and he read some of the answers that witches around the country had given and aside from good looks, power, money and good personality a lot of them had voted that having their wizard in good shape attracted them almost more than anything. This got Harry thinking as he knew that he wasn't in too bad shape as he was fairly skinny and in reasonably good shape in comparison to his classmates, but he felt suddenly that just good wasn't enough. Harry had always felt that Fleur was in much better physical shape than he was as despite her soft curves she also had strength and dexterity that had to be from some hard work on her part.

So to make him feel better about himself as well as making himself better for Fleur, the woman he loved, Harry decided that he would work out for several hours each day and see if he could become a better version of himself. However this wasn't the only idea that Harry had had in regards of what to fill his time with and due to his success with learning French earlier in the year which he was almost perfectly fluent in now, Harry decided that he would try learning both Italian and Russian as they were both countries that had a lot of witches and wizard emigrate to Great Britain from and Harry thought that it might help his future employment chances if he could fluently speak both languages. This then began Harry's new routine where he would work out in the morning with a variety of activities such as jogging, sit ups and push ups and finally lifting weights. Weirdly for a wizarding manor, there was actually a room dedicated to the muggle way of working out as several years ago James Potter had been subtly nudged by his wife that he was gaining a bit of weight and his wounded male pride immediately set in motion the construction of building a room to work out in so that he could regain his perfect shape, but after a few weeks of attempting to work out he gave up and Lily Potter got so wrapped up in other things that she didn't bother him with the issue again.

This meant that Harry had everything he needed in one place already without any sort of effort on his part. The room itself was in the East wing of the manor that few people went to unless the ballroom was being used as it was nearby to the gym. This allowed Harry to shift almost everything that he would need over to the gym including the books that he had owled Sirius for so that he could learn Italian and Russian. The fact that no-one would go over to this side of the manor meant that Harry had peace and quiet to work in apart from the music which he sometimes played as the gym was a magic free area so that muggle electronics could work in a house of magic users.

It was after several weeks of this routine that Harry felt real change in himself as he felt lighter on his feet than he previously did and he was able to run and jog for far longer than before. He had also noticed when he looked at himself in a full length mirror that he was filling out his form much more than he had done previously as he now had a layer of muscle that covered most of his torso and his arms and legs had bigger muscles than he had noticed before. It was also around this time that Harry finally found out what happened in the maze and afterwards that had led James Potter to lock down the manor as he had.

From what Harry had overheard as his family were talking without a care to whether or not he could hear them or not he knew that the Triwizard tournament had been a fix from the start. Michael Potter had always been intended to win the tournament and be the first champion to the cup as the man that most of the castle had known as Mad-Eye Moody had in fact been a Death Eater under the guise of Polyjuice with the actual Moody licked inside of his trunk to give the fake Moody access to hair for use with the potion. The fact that the imposter had been Barty Crouch Junior, who everyone believed had died in Azkaban more than ten years ago was shocking, but it was the mere tip of the iceberg in regards to what had happened that night.

Harry had heard Michael tell the tale of the Triwizard cup being a portkey and taking him not back to the entrance of the maze, but instead to a graveyard where the betrayer of the Potter's Peter Pettigrew had been waiting in ambush for Michael Potter. After stunning him the first thing that Michael knew afterwards was waking up tied to one of the bigger statues in the graveyard and in front of him was the biggest cauldron he had ever seen. Michael then spoke of seeing Pettigrew carrying out what appeared to be a bundle of robes until a voice came out that could have been a snake with how much like a hiss it was.

Here the details got a little shaky as Michael seemed to have forgotten some of the details but he was able to recount a ritual used that called for Bone of the father; unwillingly given, Flesh of the servant; willingly sacrificed and finally Blood of the enemy; forcibly taken. This hadn't meant all that much to Michael initially but then he noticed that the thing in the bundle of robes was nowhere to be seen and he came to the conclusion that it was inside the cauldron. Realisation had started in Michael when Pettigrew had used the same knife that he had just used to cut off him own forearm to cut Michael's own arm before dripping the blood collected into the cauldron. Within a minute the cauldron had begun bubbling and steaming before it seemed to melt away entirely just leaving a tall, pale man standing where it had been. At seeing this man Pettigrew hastened to robe the man before falling back to care for the bloody stump that had been his left hand and fore arm before he sacrificed it for the ritual.

Harry noted that Michael had been almost unable to continue as whatever had happened n that Graveyard had sacred him so badly that he didn't want to relive it. Some gentle coaxing from James and Lily Potter soon led to Michael admitting that the man that rose from the ritual was none other than Voldemort, although a less human version than Michael had seen in the Chamber of Secrets during his second year at Hogwarts. For al, of Michael Potter's talk over the year that he wasn't scared of Voldemort and he would kick his ass if he ever tried to come back, Michael Potter all but wet himself in fear when he saw the most powerful Dark Lord of the last fifty years reborn right in front of him.

Michael then spoke of Voldemort summoning his Death Eaters to him who appeared promptly in their full robes and masks to which Voldemort greeted them as old friends before expressing his displeasure at them all for failing to come to his aid over the last thirteen years. Pettigrew spoke at this time that he had remained loyal to Voldemort during that time to which Voldemort had replied that it was out of fear of retribution from the rest of the wizarding world rather than any loyalty to his master. However even Voldemort was not so arrogant to admit that before his rebirth he had relied on Pettigrew to keep his previously rather frail form alive, so he gifted the man with a silver arm to replace the one that he had sacrificed for the ritual.

Michael Potter had noticed that for the last few minutes Voldemort had all but been ignoring his presence on the tombstone which Michael fleetingly hoped that in light of his resurrection and his disappointment at his followers for not searching for him, he might well be able to get out of the ropes holding him and escape. However this notion was brought crashing down when Voldemort suddenly addressed him as he was trying to weaken the ropes that were holding him, Voldemort hadn't forgotten he was there at all and was just waiting for dramatic flair to introduce his 'Guest of Honour' for the evening.

Despite what disgust Harry felt towards his brother most of the time, he wouldn't have wished what happened next upon him at all as Michael spoke of being held under Voldemort's Cruciatus curse for minutes at a time seemingly for no reason at all other than for the sheer sick pleasure of watching Michael Potter writhe around in agony. It really did paint the picture of a bleak future which left Harry wondering why his brother had even made it home at all as he was vastly outmatched by Voldemort in every way, but it was all made clear.

Lily Potter had started speaking after Michael paused to take a drink as he had been speaking for some time now; "What I don't understand Michael is why Voldemort would send you home via the portkey with not a scratch on you or oblivating you of what happened that night. Why would he allow us to start reacting to his return?"

Here James Potter replied with a grim expression; "It's to make Michael's version of events look as unbelievable as possible. With the healing of his arm so that there is no wound to see there is only Michael's word that these events even took place in the eyes of the Ministry."

"What about memories or Veritaserum, they could show beyond all doubt that Michael is telling the truth?" Lily Potter tried again to interject into the conversation.

James Potter sighed deeply before he replied to his wife's comment; "Unfortunately as Michael is still under the age of sixteen it is illegal for him to take Veritaserum unless there is overwhelming evidence that he needs to take it which of course there isn't as there were no other witnesses aside from the Death Eaters who are some of the most influential men in the country. And memories can be tampered with so any investigation team from the Ministry would say that they were false memories."

James Potter stood up and walked to the side of the room where his drinks cabinet stood and he poured himself a large glass of Fire whiskey before he came sand sat back down to continue with his reasons as to why they were in a precarious situation right now.

"It's a very clever game that Voldemort is playing right now as he knew that Michael would tell Albus that he had returned who in turn would inform the Minister for Magic, but Voldemort knew that this wouldn't impede his plans at all. Whilst Dumbledore knows that Michael is telling the truth, Fudge in his cowardice refuses to believe that Voldemort could have returned so he is burying his head in the sand and painting Michael as a delusional liar and Albus as a power hungry man that wants to overthrow the Ministry to start his own rule over the country. Obviously this is all nonsense but with people like Lucius Malfoy having the Minister in his pocket there isn't much we can do to make Fudge see reason which makes our position in the coming war weaker as we can reform the Order of the Phoenix, but we would still be vastly outnumbered by Voldemort's forces in a all out battle. No what he had orchestrated is a scenario where we are too busy fighting for people to see the truth to prepare to fight against Voldemort when he announces his presence to the world."

All three Potters in the room sat in silence for a few minutes before Lily Potter had a spark of memory; "What about that Death Eater who had been impersonating Alastor at Hogwarts this year, surely if they questioned him under veritaserum they would get the answers that would show that Michael is telling the truth."

"That would be true is it wasn't for the fact that Fudge had him kissed by a Dementor within an hour of him being caught as in Fudges words; 'Barty Crouch Junior is a dangerous Death Eater who cannot be allowed to try something like this again and in the eyes of the public the Ministry must be seen as doing something'. This is all part of Fudge trying to sweep all this under the carpet so that he doesn't have to deal with it and had we even been able to question Barty Crouch Junior then Fudge would have written his testimony off as the deranged ravings of a madman and not allowed any investigation to check as to whether or not what he would have said was true or not."

Harry heard some reluctance in Michael's voice as he then spoke again; "I do remember one more thing. Voldemort told me that the reason why he didn't kill me is that I am not the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry is and that only be killing him could he fulfil the prophecy and truly become immortal. He knew that he could use my blood to resurrect him as I share the same blood as Harry and it would make more people suspicious if Harry had been entered in the tournament, whilst having Crouch enter me in the tournament meant that after everything I could be discredited as a liar."

"No that cannot be true, Voldemort is just trying to sow the seeds f doubt within our forces Michael. Voldemort lies, it's one thing he is truly good at, Albus confirmed that you are the Boy-Who-Lived and we will step up your training so that you can prove to the world when Voldemort makes his presence known that you are the one the prophecy talks of!" James Potter said with absolute confidence.

Harry had quietly walked away after what he heard to process what he had listened to. He had to admit that both Voldemort and James Potter were right although for slightly different reasons. James Potter was right about the Ministry trying to sweep everything under the carpet to save face and not deal with the problem. This meant that Michael Potter and Albus Dumbledore would be scapegoats if anything now happened to make people question if they were telling the truth, then the Ministry could simply blame them for stirring up trouble. However Harry knew that Voldemort was even more right about his plan to use the lack of evidence to discredit Michael's story as well as the animosity that a lot of people felt towards Michael Potter and the two adult Potter's in general. The other three wouldn't see it as they lived somewhat in a bubble where they believed that everyone still loved Michael Potter for his actions of defeating Voldemort, but Harry knew the truth that a lot of the wizarding public disliked the Potters as they had had enough of Michael's bullying arrogant nature that was only made worse by James and Lily Potter's inability to see that their son had done anything wrong most of the time. Voldemort had known that most of the wizarding world would not have said anything to discredit Michael Potter while his grievances were still relatively minor as this would be a social faux pas that would be difficult to return from, but add in question of doubt that he was telling the truth in the back of everyone's minds and they would be more than willing to take the opportunity to discredit Michael Potter.

As time passed Harry continued to work in the gym on his physical health and on learning his languages which he felt were proceeding well although he wouldn't be able to tell how well he was picking up the languages unless he could converse with a native speaker of both Russian and Italian and ask them if his pronunciation or grammar needed any work. Harry had also been keeping in contact with Fleur as much as possible who kept Harry updated with what was going on in her life currently as well as the progress on her transferral to Hogwarts which was going smoothly. However most of the letters had a slight tinge of sadness as Fleur spoke of how much she missed him and being unable to Floo over to see him with driving her a little mad and she could be a little moody with her family is they annoyed her at all if she was brooding about not being able to see Harry.

Sirius had also been in contact quite frequently, but he was being somewhat mysterious as he would hint to Harry of something happening at the end of July around Harry and Michael's birthdays but he refused to spill any details about what was happening when Harry asked him. Although one piece of information that Sirius was more than happy to share was that Remus' mission to America had been a complete success. When Sirius had taken over as Lord Black when his father died he had done a check on all the businesses owned by the Black family and one of the was a potions ingredient supply business that was effectively the middle man between the shops in Diagon Alley and the suppliers themselves. Knowing that he wasn't the best at potions, Sirius had brought Remus in to act as the head of resourcing for the potions supplies business as he was far better at potions than he was and Sirius knew that due to Remus' status as a werewolf it would mean he would have trouble getting stable employment in the wizarding world due to the bigotry that faced many werewolves from potential employers, despite the fact that last year Remus had been the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts as he wanted to teach for a year before getting back to the business. Initially Remus had been reluctant to take the job as he thought that it was Sirius just offering it to him as charity due to them being good friends, but he soon saw that the business desperately needed someone who could tell good ingredients from bad ones as Remus' sense of smell was much more heightened then any of the other employees working there. This had ruffled the feathers of a lot of the Pureblood supremacists as they didn't believe that Remus should have such a high paying job as he was a werewolf, but the results were irrefutable that Remus was helping Sirius to make his business the most profitable of its kind in Europe.

The mission that had been a success was a new plantation had been discovered in a hidden away corner of Yellowstone national park that was invisible to Muggles due to spells around it keeping them away. The plantation in question grew quite a lot of rare potions ingredients that were incredibly difficult to find outside of established plantations that supplied Sirius' competitors, however the main difference with this one was that it was run by men and women that were werewolves inside an entire community of them which made all of the other businesses in Britain shun them as in their inbred bigotry they refused to do business with 'halfbreeds' as they called them. This then opened the way for Remus to travel there and convince the leaders of the plantation to a business deal with Sirius and Remus that they would regularly buy ingredients for them at a fair price, and in return they would only supply Sirius' company in Europe.

It had taken Remus the better part of the year to convince them as the community was distrustful of outsiders due to mistreatment in the past and they weren't sure that Sirius and Remus really understood the value of real work from their positions at cushy jobs, at least in the eyes of the community. This belief was given an immediate shakedown when Remus arrived at the community as they had only been in contact through letters previously and they hadn't known until then that Remus was also a werewolf, but it helped to change some of their preconceptions about Sirius' business when they saw another werewolf in a stable job that paid well that was not charity. What really sold the idea to the community in Yellowstone was that Remus was willing to work with them to gain their trust by helping out in the plantation itself which none of the other ambassadors for businesses had been willing to do in the past.

It gave Harry a happy buzz to know that Remus had been able to close the deal with the plantation as well as from some new friendships with the werewolves of Yellowstone who just wanted to live in peace as Remus in Harry's eyes was like a surrogate parent. Harry had been able to contact Remus to congratulate him on his success to which Remus had responded with an acceptance of his thanks before telling Harry that he would see him soon as Remus was involved with what Sirius was planning for Harry's birthday, but much to Harry's disgruntlement, Remus refused to spoil the surprise either on what was planned.

It was the day before Harry and Michael's birthday and Harry had just finished sending off a birthday letter to Neville, promising him that he would buy him a present just as soon as he could get to Diagon Alley. The good news was that James Potter had finally calmed down somewhat and would be lifting the lockdown on the Manor for Michael's birthday so that he could have some friends over to celebrate turning fifteen as well as seeing Sirius and Remus as James Potter knew they had something planned for later on in the day and would need access, but they were tight lipped about what it was. Harry was just finishing up with his daily exercise regime when Michael Potter walked into the gym and sneered at Harry who was sweating lightly, which was an improvement on earlier in the summer when he would have been bathed in sweat after a long workout.

"Why do you insist on doing such pointless muggle things Harry? Is your life really that boringly pathetic?"

Harry didn't immediately say anything as he knew Michael was most likely bored as his friends wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow and wanted to get his kicks by annoying him. "I do this Michael because I like what effect it has had on me, I feel really good these days, not that you would understand the benefits of exercise as the only exercise you get is when you boast about your non-existent Quidditch skills!"

Michael Potter looked angry that Harry hadn't taken his bait before he smirked and retorted; "Well it doesn't matter anyway dweeb, I am still stronger than you and I don't need to push myself so hard as my girlfriend isn't going to be leaving me any time soon."

"You keep telling yourself that Michael, maybe it will be true one day. As for Fleur, I'm not doing this solely for her, it for my own personal satisfaction as well."

Michael Potter suddenly smirked broadly at Harry's words like he had just won something; "You don't even try and deny that the Veela will be leaving you soon, maybe you've finally accepted that I'm better looking and soon she will be begging me for a date!"

'He's got his confidence back these last few weeks' Harry mused before he answered his somewhat delusional brother; "If you're measuring yourself against Ron Weasley then sure you're more attractive than him, but that's not exactly hard. Have you seen how ill most of the girls in the Great Hall look if they see him eating? It's not hard to be considered more attractive than that and dream on that she would ever beg you for a date when you can't even say her name, you just refer to her as a Veela."

Michael started to get angry again that not only was harry not getting riled up by what he was saying, but he was insulting him as well. Losing his ability to remember that he was in fact a wizard and not Crabbe or Goyle in disguise, Michael attempted to punch Harry for saying such things but he got the shock of his life when Harry not only dodged him, but then grabbed hold of his arm and twisted it behind Michael's back making him cry out in pain.

"Really Michael you are as stupid as you look. You might think that exercising has no benefits but as you can see I am a lot stronger than you are now and I suggest that you don't try that again."

With that Harry released Michael's arm before lightly pushing him away. Michael simply hissed "This isn't over!" As he stalked out of the gym leaving Harry firmly in the knowledge that his brother felt slightly humiliated at how easily Harry had subdued him.

Harry then passed the rest of the day practising Russian and Italian as well as making sure he hadn't got rusty with his French as he knew that Fleur would probably like to converse in her native tongue every now and again or if they needed to have a private conversation with others nearby. Harry had fleetingly hoped that Fleur might well be able to visit on his birthday but he knew that James Potter probably wouldn't allow it as Fleur had shunned his favoured son and therefore in his own broken logic she couldn't be trusted inside Potter manor.

Little did Harry know that at Sirius' family home and thousands of miles away in Southern France two parties were finalising their plans to just such a thing. Both Sirius and Remus knew that Harry had been missing Fleur intently and it was a mirrored feeling in Fleur. They had contacted her in order to plan their infiltration of her to the manor which hindered on Sirius and Remus being allowed to Floo into the Manor from Sirius' house as this would allow Fleur to accompany them. The main issue was that if any of the other Potters in the house but Harry saw Fleur then they would demand that she leave as she wouldn't in their eyes be an invited guest and they wouldn't even bother letting Harry know that she was even there.

To get around this issue Sirius and Remus fed James Potter the story that they had some business to take care of today that couldn't be held until another day and that they would most likely be Flooing to Potter Manor quite late so they shouldn't wait up for them as they knew where the guest bedrooms were by heart now. It could also be said that the Marauder spirit in both Sirius and Remus was ignited again when it occurred to them that they were doing something very similar to t6he acts that they had gotten up to while they were at school as they had helped Lily sneak into James' room one night when Professor McGonagall had suspected them of sharing a bed in the Head student suite which she couldn't allow at that time, she had mellowed since but at the time she would not under any circumstances have let the future husband and wife co-habit while they were at school. It made the two men chuckle that in essence they were doing the same thing, but with James' son who had found his lady love much sooner on in life, or at least the lady in question didn't hate his guts for six years before finally giving him a chance.

As the sun began to set they put their plan into action with Fleur first Flooing over to Sirius' house before they worked out the final details. They planned for Sirius to Floo over first with Fleur following mere seconds behind so if anyone was still awake apart from Harry who was something of a night owl they would only hear what could be perceived as the Floo flaring once before Remus would Floo over to make it seem like they were giving Sirius ample time to move away from the fireplace.

At eleven thirty on the dot they Flooed over to Potter manor in the formation that they had planned to find that It worked flawlessly as they found a note nearby from Lily and James that they knew it was to be a long day tomorrow and wanted an early night. Sirius and Remus told Fleur how to get to Harry's room and to watch out for certain steps as the floorboards could be rather squeaky in places.

"Right Mademoiselle Delacour I believe that this is where we part ways, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Sirius said finally with a small smirk on his lips.

"Well that doesn't leave much then does it Padfoot?" Remus quipped, seeing the opportunity presented to him.

"Shut up Moony. At least it's better than you I'm fairly certain has never even been with a woman!"

Remus spluttered for a few seconds as Fleur who was now also smirking walked off leaving the two friends to bicker with one another.

Fleur found her way to Harry's bedroom quite easily but saw that she had a few minutes before it would be midnight. This would be a big step forward in their relationship but Fleur felt that harry was indeed mature enough to take it and he was in himself ready as she would have not said so a few months ago as harry tended to be rather shy about his body and seeing Fleur out of hers, but she had been slowly making him more comfortable with the idea of it. Fleur had also had to wait for the legal side of things as Harry was only just about to turn fifteen and would legally be able to have sex. As much as Fleur's Veela side had urged her to take the step before now she made herself wait until Harry was ready and at a time when such an act couldn't be used against her by the pureblood bigots that populated a large majority of Wizarding Britain.

Making sure that her outer robe was still on but loosely tied so that she could drop it off her shoulders with ease Fleur pushed open the door to Harry's room to reveal him reading in bed. As Harry looked up he didn't immediately process that it was Fleur who was coming into his room and shutting the door behind her as she cast several locking and silencing charms on the room.

"Fleur?" Harry breathed as he made to get up out of bed, but her actions next caused him to freeze in place. Fleur then dropped the robes that were covering her showing that she was only wearing rather skimpy black lingerie underneath that made Harry's eyes widen as he took it all in. As Fleur seductively sauntered towards harry she noted with some degree of pleasure that his naked chest looked more defined than it had been when she had seen him last and his arms seemed to have larger bicep muscles than she remembered him with.

"Surprise 'Arry!" Fleur purred as she got to Harry's bed before she swung herself over his legs so that she was straddling his waist. "So, 'ave you missed me 'Arry?" She enquired with a coy look on her face as Harry struggled to look her in the eyes and not at her breasts.

"Every day Fleur, I've missed you every day." Harry replied as he fought with his more animalistic urges that were now battling with reason for control.

"Really? Show me!" Fleur commanded as she locked lips Harry to give him the most passionate kiss that they had shared to date. As their kiss deepened Fleur started to glide her fingers down Harry's chest making him shiver at her touch as she moved down towards the hem of his sleep shorts which prompted Harry to start doing the same as he started to do the same but in reverse as he started at Fleur's thighs and slowly brought his hands up to just below her bra covered breasts.

As Harry caressed Fleur's breasts through her Bra she shivered slightly at his touch and at the anticipation of what was to come. Fleur then pushed her hand under the hem of Harry's sleep shorts to grasp his member causing him to gasp quietly at the sensation. Reaching to her back Fleur went to release the clasps on her bra but Harry stopped her.

"Fleur are you sure about this? Are you sure that we're ready to take this step?" Harry almost didn't want to ask these questions as his hormones were screaming at him to just let Fleur pull off her bra and to be damned with the consequences, but Fleur was the best thing to ever happen to him and he was damned if he would ruin it because he let his hormones control him.

Fleur smiled at the fact that even when she was straddling Harry and she could feel his excitement at what she was doing starting to push against her; he was still more concerned that she truly wanted to do this. This was the final piece that made Fleur sure that Harry was ready for this step as he was unsure rather than being cocky and arrogant that Fleur would want to take this step.

"Yes 'Arry I'm sure. You know I'm Veela and I 'ave been wanting to do this for several months but I 'ave been waiting until now."

Before Harry could ask why she had waited until now the clock across the room chimed to show that it was now midnight and Harry was now fifteen. This made it all click in Harry's mind; he knew that the rather one sided laws of the wizarding world meant that he could legally have sex when he was fifteen which was what Fleur had been waiting for so that no pureblood bigot could try and have Fleur punished if they had taken this step before now and people had found out about it.

" 'Appy Birthday 'Arry!" Fleur whispered in his ear before she pulled off her bra and used her wand to vanish her underwear leaving her naked in front of him. Harry seemed frozen at the sight as he just kept his hands on Fleur's hips to support her but Fleur could tell that he liked what he saw as his eyes were starting to glaze at the corners with lust and his erection was pushing against her more forcefully than before.

The light foreplay that they had engaged in combined with Fleur's anticipation proved to be all she needed to be ready and Fleur gently lowered herself onto Harry causing both of them to moan slightly at the feeling. The rest of the night saw Harry and Fleur lost in their own world of love and passion for each other.

The strong morning sunlight streaming in through the windows of Harry's room caused him to awaken slowly and for a few moments he was slightly confused as he was never normally awake this early as looking at the clock over on the far wall he saw that it was only six in the morning. Then as Harry felt the slight weight on his chest he remembered that Fleur had surprised him in more than one way last night and he smiled at the memories that were coming back to him. Harry was now certain that his new favourite noise was listening to Fleur's moans as he had pleasured her last night using just his tongue. Fleur had initially been rather surprised that Harry would know of such things and had been prepared to teach Harry how to pleasure her, but Fleur hadn't known that Sirius had tortured Harry with advice on what to do when he and Fleur took that step. Harry recalled being mortified that Sirius would tell him such things in such a blasé and blunt way, but he was now glad he did as after Harry had finished showing Fleur what he knew she had all but pinned him to the bed as she proceeded to have her way with him, not that Harry was complaining.

Harry would never thank Sirius for telling him such things as the Marauder's ego would no longer be able to fit inside his house, but he would consider buying Sirius a second bottle of Fire whiskey for Christmas. As Harry recalled what had taken place the night before his body started to react again pushing up against Fleur's toned stomach. This combined with the sunlight caused Fleur to quietly awaken and upon feeling Harry's erection pushing against her she decided to surprise him even more this morning than she had last night, as taking care to not appear to be awake Fleur moved her hand until she was gripping Harry's member in her hand causing him to make an odd noise.

"Fleur?" Harry questioned as he felt his chest vibrate slightly at what he guessed was Fleur laughing slightly.

"Good morning 'Arry!" Fleur replied, not moving her hand one inch.

Harry was trying to have a proper conversation with his girlfriend, but she was not exactly making it easy and his body was not co-operating with him. Seeing Harry's struggle, Fleur took pity on him for all of half a second before she pushed herself up until she was straddling him again before lowering herself onto him again.

It was several hours before Harry and Fleur surfaced and dressed for the day as they had tried to shower together and had relapsed into exploring each other so it was close to ten in the morning before they even made it out of the room and in search of breakfast. Harry couldn't remember a time that he felt so happy or relaxed as he did right now except for some of the times that he and Fleur had shared while at Hogwarts between the second and third tasks of the Triwizard tournament.

As the two neared the dining room where they were sure that at least one other occupant of the house would be they stopped and mentally prepared themselves for the shit storm that was likely to descend upon them as Harry knew that It had not been exactly a sanctioned visit by Fleur and his parents were most likely going to blow up at Sirius for allowing her access, despite the fact that had Michael Potter been dating Fleur she probably would have had access since the first week of the summer and to hell with the safety precautions.

However as they peered through the door they only saw Sirius and Remus in the room eating breakfast and discussing the latest Quidditch results. Fleur sensed the opportunity for some amusement on behalf of the two men in the room as she had been trying to find the right time and place to help Harry get some revenge on Sirius for all the times Sirius had embarrassed Harry about his relationship with her.

"Wait 'Arry, before we go in would you like to 'ear my plan for revenge on Sirius?" Fleur whispered as she pulled Harry gently back from the door to stop him from entering the room. He looked at her inquisitively so that she would continue what she had to say.

"I know you 'ave wanted to get revenge on 'im ever since he teased you the day before the third task, but I zink I 'ave an idea about 'ow to completely floor 'im." Leaning in close Fleur whispered her idea to Harry whose face lit up in a mischievous grin at her words.

"Only if you're comfortable with this Fleur." Harry replied.

"It will be rather funny non?"

"Then let the show begin."

The two then walked through the door and into the dining room which caused both Sirius and Remus to look up as their sharp senses heard them even in a room so large that would dull the sound at a distance. Both men were rendered speechless when they saw Harry walking in with a bright smile on his face and a spring in his step, looking like he had an endless supply of energy, whilst Fleur was walking slowly and appeared to be extremely tired.

Fleur had schooled her expression so that she looked exhausted and using Harry as a way to guide herself before she put on her most pathetic tone to ask for coffee and a croissant as she collapsed gently into a chair. Harry gathered up Fleur's breakfast as well as his own before sitting down next to Fleur who was pretending to be falling asleep on the table, the two of them shared a sly smile before they looked round to see both Sirius and Remus had amazed looks on their faces. Sirius was the first one to break the silence.

"So long night Harry?"

"Yeah, we only got a few hours sleep. I might need a small amount of pepper up potion to get through the day and Fleur was asking for a whole vial if possible." Harry replied with a grin on his face, knowing exactly what Sirius was trying to subtly ask about without making it seem like he was blatantly asking.

"Next time 'Arry if we will be sharing a bed you will be 'aving some calming draught so zat maybe you go to sleep after the fourth time." Fleur injected into the conversation at this point to try and steer Sirius into their trap of assumption that they were weaving in front of him.

Sirius gaped for a few seconds before responded to Fleur; "Are you saying that his first ever time Harry managed to pleasure you four times in one night?"

"Non zat was the amount of times he finished, I lost count of 'ow many times 'e pleasured me after I 'it double digits. 'Arry was like 'e was possessed!" Fleur replied whilst keeping up her half lidded eyes look to make it seem as if she was so tired it was taking all the energy she had just to talk to Sirius.

Harry caught Fleur's eye to see if she was becoming uncomfortable with how far they were taking the payback against Sirius but Harry could see Fleur smirking slightly and she winked at him. In reality Fleur was enjoying watching Sirius squirm after he had teased Harry for months and being so open about their sex life was no big deal for Fleur as Veela culture was much more open about it so it felt rather freeing for Fleur to be talking about it without having to censor herself like she normally would, despite the fact that she was embellishing rather heavily on what had taken place the previous night.

By now both Sirius and Remus were opening gawping at Harry with looks of both envy and pride in their eyes, but Harry decided that at least for the time being he would move on the conversation so to spare his uncles' brains from frying.

"So do you know what has been planned for the day or like me were you not deemed worthy enough to know?" Harry asked with dry sarcasm lacing his tone.

Remus looked at him pointedly but didn't comment as on some level he agreed with assessment of his two 'old friends'.

"No we turned up quite late last night, so they were already in bed when we arrived. Although I did hear one of the elves muttering about a lot of extra work for an ungrateful brat that never thanked them for their efforts which doesn't surprise me." Sirius was the one to answer Harry.

Harry nodded along with Sirius as he had heard the elves muttering about his brother and he knew it would be about Michael as Harry was always pleasant to the elves as he would make sure he thanked them for their work.

"Anyway you just made me remember what I needed to speak with you about this morning, before the rest of your folks are awake."

This piqued Harry's interest as he had never seen his godfather look so serious about what he wanted to talk about and he was curious about why this wasn't a topic that Sirius wanted to bring up around James, Lily or Michael Potter.

"I know that you don't like it when I buy you too many things for your birthday as you don't want to turn into your brother, but this gift isn't entirely physical and it helps me out in some ways as well."

Seeing that Harry wasn't going to say anything right now, Sirius continued; "For your birthday since you are now fifteen I want to name you heir Black to become Lord Black when you reach your seventeenth birthday. This would mean that you will be able to access the Black family vault, although we could set up a separate one if you want to keep expenses private, as well as giving you a few more perks in life as you would be the heir to an Ancient and Noble Bloodline. As to why I am giving it to you Harry it's mostly so that neither Michael nor Draco Malfoy gets the title as neither of those little brats deserves the title of Lord Black."

Harry stared at Sirius in surprise for a few moments before he suddenly thought of why Sirius would be passing on the title to him rather than a child of his own as Sirius was only in his mid thirties and still had plenty of time to have a wife and children.

"What about your own children Sirius? You can still have kids and they would inherit the title so that you could keep it more within the family."

Sirius slumped down in his seat slightly at hearing Harry's words and it took Sirius a few minutes to answer Harry; "That's just the thing Harry, I won't be having any children because I am incapable of having them. The always pure blood mania that meant my parents became my parents came with it a nasty surprise, my parents were so closely related that it caused birth defects due to inbreeding and in me it meant that I am sterile and unable to sire children."

Harry stared at his godfather in shock and he moved to embrace him which Sirius seemed to appreciate.

"After all these years you Harry are more like the son I would want to have even if I was to adopt a child, and in any case I wouldn't be able to pass along the title to an adopted child as you must have Black blood in your veins in order to become Lord Black, which you do as your grandmother Dorea was a Black by birth and as such you can carry the title and any sons you have will also be able to pass on the title. If I don't give it to you then it would either go to Michael or Draco and I really don't want either of them to claim the power that comes with being Lord Black, but with me naming you as my heir your claim would supersede theirs if anything were to happen to me before you turned seventeen. And in any case this now means that you no longer have to be so frugal with your spending as you will have plenty of money that I might even get a bottle of Fire whiskey for Christmas two years in a row." Sirius finished off with a small smirk pulling on the corners of his lips as Harry and Remus rolled their eyes at him.

"Anyway I think I can hear movement out there so I think the barbarian horde is about to reach the gates of breakfast, so let us prepare for the day ahead."

All of the occupants around the table nodded and turned their attention back to their own individual conversations to try and make it seem like they had been discussing nothing more important than the weather.

 _ **A.N/ Yes I do realise that once again I said I would update quicker and we are in the New year so happy new year, but I have been busy with life and events. In regards to the scenes with Fleur embellishing on her late night activities with Harry I am not saying that all women would act like this and you shouldn't expect them to, but Fleur understands how the male mind works and is playing off of that to tease Sirius and Remus. And in any case I am portraying Veela in this as being much more open and free when it comes to sex and Fleur would find it fun to make Sirius and Remus envious of Harry, as Harry has allowed her something that she thought she would never have; true honest love.**_


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